Author : Dr. Ratan Sharda
For nearly 10 days, social media has been ablaze with outrage. All the so-called right wing “warriors” or, let us say, “ultra-Hindutva warriors” are up in arms against the Centre on the UGC fracas.
Surprisingly, despite the UGC equity rules being thrown into the dustbin and a new framework being created by the responsible authorities under fire from the Supreme Court, the outrage has not stopped.
It has turned into a campaign to break the Hindu society; a feat that left-secular forces could not achieve for 75 years, but the ultra-Hindu groups may manage if they have their way. The left secular brigade did not succeed because they were “outsiders”, that is, they had no love for Hindu dharma, nor did they understand this nation. For them it was a part of ‘Mission Breaking India’.
The RSS, meanwhile, was nurturing the Hindu society’s unity by stressing the unifying common elements and raising the point of bias in the political system. With decades of untiring efforts, we saw a society that was ready to rise above the caste divisions. We saw a slow decline of casteist political parties, and they had to widen their base by claiming to be what they are not.
Unwittingly, self-proclaimed defenders of Hindutva/Hindu dharma, especially those who joined the Hindutva procession quite late in life have given a new lease of life to breaking the Hindu unity project. The difference between these warriors and “soft” critics like me and many others is that we criticised the authorities for biased rules, we have reached out to the leaders to warn them of the consequences and suggested them to relook.
The newly awakened ultra-Hindu crusaders, meanwhile, have chosen to blow the issue out of proportion and are pouring oil on the flames of caste hatred. And left-seculars are rubbing their hands in glee.
Are the new outrage manufacturers even aware where this is leading to? Are they realising that they are playing into the hands of the very forces whom they oppose?
COMING A FULL CIRCLE
As I sat in serious introspection, I realised that the clock was coming a full circle.
Of those stoking the fire, some come from earlier secular backgrounds, some mushroomed later looking at opportunities.
While the Hindutva warriors for ages welcomed the new entrants, some of them took rapid steps to join the ride and exploit it, hooking on to some BJP leader or the other. They also latched on to some RSS people, who trust people easily.
They became stars. Nothing wrong here. But they used it as a good business model for self-promotion and making money by tapping into the rising wave of awakened Hindus, who had become angry or frustrated.
This month, “saviours” of Hindus have decided to break the very society that they love so much. The sterling quality of these crusaders is that they see nothing beyond their nose, or TRP counter. Or they would have seen where it was going.
Their abuses and their strident criticism of the BJP – and association by guilt, the RSS – are being multiplied by the gleeful left secular groups. The TRP tappers are rejoicing, not ready to concede that this could be counter-productive, larger cause be damned.
From being secular with conviction that it is the best medicine for the nation, turning to Hindutva after realising their folly is one thing. From Hindutva, taking an irrational U-Turn to aid “Breaking India” groups, hoping to “teach BJP a lesson” is saddening.
There is an infamous social media organisation owned and promoted by a man who fought the last election on a Congress ticket. Its trick to date was to question the RSS for the mistakes of the BJP and ridicule it, abuse it. The BJP leaders were happily gracing their programmes without bothering to check their content. The owners are laughing all the way to the bank while the viewer is fed poison in the name of serving the Hindu cause.
YouTube studio activism of such groups has never reached out to the victims of communal riots, or the Hindus persecuted by minorities. They have been seeding poison that further widens the chasm between Hindus and Muslims.
They are teaching shatrubodh to an organisation like the RSS that has sacrificed its swayamsevaks to the cause of security and unity of Hindu society. Had they tried their “bold” Hindutva advocacy before 2013, they would have been banished by the secular groups whom they are indirectly helping now.
I have given one example. There are many more individuals who have had impeccable secular credentials, but who are now the toast of Hindutva followers because they are good at telling Hindus how they are being shortchanged but beyond that, they expect the BJP-RSS to deliver while they pontificate.
Working on the ground is a different ball game. Individuals or social media platforms do not have to connect real people and don’t need to weave a united society. They love their voices and words, not realising that it is more difficult to unite than to divide.
Negative thoughts always spread faster than positive thoughts. Who knows it better than the RSS?
WHY THE RSS
It is not the first time that the RSS is being targeted. I am not talking of the Congress and communists for whom the RSS has remained a punching bag because its idea of an immortal perennial civilisational Bharat is anathema to them.
Here, I am talking about the Hindutva proponents, who had done a lot of work on ground for reforms and social harmony unlike today’s mudslingers. For example, Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar found the RSS too soft, too moderate and he used to taunt it.
The RSS respectfully listened to him, but never hit back. Later in life, Savarkar acknowledged that the RSS builds constructive organisation that is more important. He became a great senior friend of Shri Guruji.
Shri Guruji did not support linguistic states despite huge public pressure, because he believed that it was a step towards the balkanisation of India. Link
The RSS has never hidden its agenda of uplifting every deprived or sidelined segment of our society. It did not agitate like many samaj sudharak mandals. It worked on the ground to create a feeling of oneness and harmony.
RSS third Sarsanghchalak Balasaheb Deoras’ simple message to those in the RSS opposing reservation was: “Before speaking just imagine yourself being born in a hut from where our SC/ST brethren come.”
The RSS took workshops to sensitise its workers about the issue. It stood firm on the renaming of Marathwada University as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar University when the Congress and its friends were politicking and fiddling with the issue, leading to killing of scores of people.
The RSS stood up against separatist movements in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and the Northeast. Its swayamsevaks, senior leaders and pracharaks paid with their lives for the cause. Another reason why left seculars hate RSS.
Leadership is not about following popular current demands to become popular. It is about standing firm on your views and changing people’s perceptions even if it is not understood at that time.
I know of many Hindu organisations who feel that the RSS is not doing enough. After all, the RSS is made of people from the same society.
These groups simply put their head down and work actively on those issues. The RSS has welcomed and supported such efforts. It is not arrogance, it is humility.
Generally, the RSS does not respond to its critics. It doesn’t wish to waste its energy in responding to every criticism.
Then why did I choose to speak out today? Because as an individual I can, the RSS cannot.
Any word of the RSS can be twisted by vested interests that will inflame some sections or the other. As long as it was criticism, abuse or even ridiculing of the RSS, it was okay. Because it is bad optics in society to speak against your own if they differ with your views.
When this hate campaign has become a tool to divide Hindu society, one must speak up. This is not criticism; this is stoking the fire.
Many of the critics of the UGC and, by corollary, reservation may not even realise how dangerous it is for the Hindus. I, too, have criticised UGC, NEET and many such policies. But, within bounds of decency; not poisonous language that could create ill-will.
Enemies are waiting. The UGC is a thoughtless, highly biased piece of legislation.
Yes, the mindless urge to fill empty medical seats witnessed the unbelievable spectacle of cut-off marks in PG medical that fuelled the UGC unrest. Is the answer abuse? Is the answer more hate?
Those who sought to teach a lesson to Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s first NDA government, ended up gifting the government to the left cabal for 10 years that gave us the corrosive Right to Education, which destroyed Hindu charitable schools, misused Hindu temple funds, treated Hindus as terrorists, tried to bring laws that hurt Hindus, not just favour minorities.
I compare these critics to those who criticised Bajirao Peshwa for his relationship with Mastani – they were responsible for his untimely death. They are like the earlier Kashmiri Pandits who refused to accept converted Hindus back into their fold. These critics belong to the same creed, considering themselves superior to others and living in a world of their own self-belief.
Source : News18.com ( carried with permission of the author)
Arise Bharat 
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