Why barriers between RSS and government are tough to break
Ban on participating in the RSS’s activities was first put in place in 1966. It was lifted in 1977 when Janata Party came to power and was re-imposed in 1980
It emerged a few days ago that the Union government had quietly lifted the decades-old ban prohibiting government employees from associating with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). Amid widespread and vociferous criticism of the order, history becomes entwined with immediate compulsions.
That the government had planned to proceed by stealth was evident from the fact that it did not publicise the order, which was dated July 9. The media was first alerted to the Centre’s move on July 21 by Congress leaders who took to X. Thus, it took almost a fortnight for the first intimations to reach the public. But no information was available on relevant websites.
It was only the next day that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders confirmed the existence of the order. Thus, on July 22, for instance, BJP leader Amit Malaviya, who incidentally holds no position connected to any government at all, confirmed that the ‘unconstitutional order issued 58 years ago, in 1966’ had been ‘withdrawn’.
The two immediate questions that come to mind are why now if the order was unconstitutional, and why by stealth? Logically speaking, if the order was kosher it should have been given wide publicity, thus enabling all those government employees who were waiting with bated breath to join the RSS to do so. It doesn’t make any sense to pass an order of this sort without letting people know that a new libertarian regime is in place. After all, it applies to millions of government employees, not all of whom would have immediate access to the order.
Moreover, if the current regime was trying to correct a historical injustice it should surely have been proclaiming its achievement in a barrage of publicity. Then, of course, there is the issue of the public’s right to information. When something this momentous is being undertaken, ideally the public should be taken into confidence before the decision is taken. Even better, a process of public consultation should have been undertaken, because this is neither a routine measure nor a technical one, like, say, raising the repo rate. This is a quintessentially political move, which should not have been carried out by stealth, without widespread consultation.
We really do need to go into the rights and wrongs of allowing government employees to join a partisan, political and sectarian organisation. But before we do so, the question of timing needs to be addressed. The Modi regime has been in power for over a decade, albeit with a qualified mandate since the general elections earlier this year. Why didn’t it withdraw the order, if it was ‘unconstitutional’ when it had a single-party mandate for 10 years, with a huge majority for five of them?
All answers provided would obviously be in the realm of speculation. The majority verdict is that the ban has been lifted precisely because the BJP doesn’t have a majority now. The argument goes something like this: Over the past few years, the BJP under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s supervision grew so powerful and arrogant that it thought it could dispense with the RSS’s patronage.
Combining Modi’s charisma and demagogic skills with Union home minister Amit Shah’s attention to the nitty-gritty of building and running an unstoppable election machine, the BJP leadership – viz. the Modi-Shah duumvirate – thought it did not need RSS boots on the ground to win elections. Added to that, they were faithfully pressing on with the RSS’s agenda, so why would the ideological and organisational parent have any grievances? The BJP had grown up.
But there was serious resentment at all levels of the parent organisation at this contemptuous brushing aside and come the 2024 general elections, the RSS organisation silently sat it out, declining to join the party’s campaign with any vigour. This had a big impact on the BJP’s prospects in the heartland states, especially Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP came a cropper, losing its majority.
The retraction of the ban on government employees joining the RSS or taking part in its activities is an olive branch, or perhaps a white flag. The BJP has realised it cannot do without the parent’s sage counsel and all-round assistance.
This explanation may be convincing but does not sound like the whole story. It could be argued that over the years, too much has been made of the rift between the RSS and the BJP, and both have been content to play along with media and public speculation. It could well be the case that there is no serious divergence between the BJP and the RSS. The party did badly at the polls because they did a lot of things wrong while running the election campaign, apart from which its rabid sectarianism is losing steam in a time of widespread economic distress.
So, while it is possible that the BJP might have been mending fences for some disagreements, the order to allow government employees to join the RSS at this point in time is just a logical culmination of its project of ‘capturing’ the organs of the state and other institutions, a process that has been cruising for almost a decade.
The ‘why now’ question has another answer: this is a statement from the Modi-Shah ramparts to the effect that losing a single party majority is no impediment. The regime will continue to proceed as unilaterally.
Which brings us to the issue of unconstitutionality. It’s not just Malaviya who has said it. A Madhya Pradesh High Court bench also said on July 25 that it took the Centre almost five decades to realize its mistake. But was it a mistake? Clearly not. Historically speaking, the RSS has been banned thrice for limited periods: in 1948 after Gandhi’s assassination; during the Emergency; and in the aftermath of the demolition of the Babri mosque. No one is now advocating a ban, though, truth to tell, some of the sectarian and extremist organisations indirectly connected could be examined.
The ban on participating in the RSS’s activities was first put in place in 1966. It was lifted in 1977 when the Janata Party came to power and was re-imposed in 1980. The 1966 order cited the Central Civil Services Conduct Rules, which prohibit government employees from being a member of or being associated with any political party or any organization that is involved in political activity or aids any political movement.
The RSS may call itself a cultural organisation, but there is no doubt that it is political. So, whatever anyone says, government employees cannot be involved with it, as they cannot be involved with, say, the Seva Dal, which is a voluntary organisation involved in Gandhian ‘constructive work’, but has a definite political association.
If we were to buttress this point, we would point to the RSS’s stated ideal of constructing a Hindi rashtra, which runs counter to fundamental constitutional tenets. Those sworn to uphold the Constitution can hardly be allowed to be involved with an organization that disavows the nation’s foundational document. Breaking the boundaries between the state and non-state actors can only damage constitutional democracy. We’ve been there before.
Suhit K Sen is an author and political commentator based in Kolkata. The views expressed are personal
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