Guest blog: Sangh Privar - The Hindu Taliban of India

SANGH PARIVAR- THE FAR RIGHT FRINGE

By Qudrat Ullah

Launched by the inspired volunteers of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with the sole purpose of attaining Gandhian Swaraj, the loose conglomerate of a total of 31 zealot organizations called Sangh Parivar has emerged as the multi headed hydra of the Hindu far right In India to frighten its minorities. It represents popular movement for the establishment of a ‘Greater India’ with total Brahminical hegemony, to be comprising of Pakistan, Afghanistan and other neighbors in the immediate periphery, with the socio-political status of non-Hindus to be limited to serfs only. These assorted organizations within Sangh Parivar particularly include Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Vanavasi Kalian Ashram, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Vidya Bharti, Sewa Bharati and many more. Although, the different organizations within the Sangh Parivar run independently and peruse dissimilar policies and activities, but the stated mission of these activities has been attaining the 'Saravangeena Unnati' (all-round development) of India.

More preferably termed as the ‘Hindu Taliban of democratic India’ Sangh Parivar uses Hindu mythology and various hate symbols for the propagation of its political motives and to mutilate non Hindu minorities to an extent where they discontinue to grow up as an independent identity.

It was during Vajpayee’s time that relations and contacts of Sangh Parivar’s Dharam gurus and Hindutva leaders with Israel increased manifold. Hindutvadis got support and motivation from Israeli secret agency, Mossad’s operations against Arab and Muslim countries. It was during the rule of BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee that a strong foundation was laid for the visits of Hindutvadis, especially the Sadhus and dharam gurus of Sangh Parivar to Israel. These visits are increasing now as Indian army chief Gen Deepak Kapoor has also recently gone to Israel. It is important to note that involvement of army officers, Bhonsla Military School of Maharashtra run by central Hindu military education society and the members of different wings of Sangh Parivar, in various terrorist activities in different states should not be a surprise as terror tactics are a forte of Sangh Parivar to achieve goals.

Among Sangh Parivar's connected organizations, active training of martial arts is given to RSS's women branch (Rashtriya Sevika Samiti), Bajrang Dal and its women's branch, Durga Vahini. Training camps and physical trainings are not new for these organizations; they have now started arming their volunteers in a military pattern as well. Volunteers’ indoctrination is carried out in such a way that they start viewing Muslims as an enemy to be fought with. Arms training camps are regularly organized by them in different parts of the country, where young men and women are trained in the use of guns as well as trishuls, sword and other martial arts. This trained cadre is then used against minorities and for other terror related activities.

Since 1947, RSS has been indoctrinating and creating more and more organizations to carry out its objective of one Hindu nation, to work for the modern version of Brahminical system and to get annexed border countries. Its trained swayamsevaks, have already made inroads in various political formations like Bharatiya Janata Party, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarhti Parishad, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrma, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Hindu Munnani, Bajrang Dal, Samajik Samrasta Manch and also created subsidiary women organizations like Rashtra Seviak Samiti and Durga Vahini etc. Their second strategy is to infiltrate in the different wings of state machinery including police, bureaucracy, Judiciary, education and media and their major strength comes from infiltration in all spheres of socio-political life. RSS’s vicious grip on society cannot just be assessed by the electoral strength of BJP alone. That’s why Atal Bihari Vajpayee once declared that first he is the swayam sevak of RSS and then the prime minister of India. This is the control of Hindu right that even a prime minister could not dare to denounce his RSS identity.

In modern day India, which projects itself to be a secular democracy and claims to be politically neutral towards all religions, with no constitutional role of any religion in government affairs; the political Hindutva has been successfully manipulated by this tiny, yet most powerful, Hindu fundamentalists, as a tool to attract more and more Hindu zealots and then, exploit their clout to lynch minorities, of which Muslims and Christians are the main targets. Sangh Parivar’s political jingoism is based on selected teachings and the culture of elite Hindus, which give priority to the Brahminical values of caste and gender based inequality in the society in which all other non Hindus are required to live as apartheid creatures with no future prospects.

It is noteworthy that one of the most powerful media in India i.e. state television network has been used to spread the message of Hindu militancy. According to one political observer, ‘the forces of Hindutva see the Indian people as a vast mass which is waiting to find, or rediscover, its common culture and identity. The catalyst in the process was television. Although Ramanand Sagar's epic was screened by Doordarshan, it spawned several variants in regional languages as the state monopoly over television was withdrawn. The telecast of the Ramayan was the precursor of the Ram Janam bhoomi movement which in turn, saw the ascendancy of the BJP to the status of the single largest party.’

Sangh Parivar’s profile proves that its every action is aimed at subverting Pakistan or hurting Muslims. We should, therefore, remain vigilant as Indian sponsored Taliban terrorism has already done too much havoc with our country as Pakistan is facing the defining moment of its history when our fiend neighbor is bent upon to obliterate its most terrific neighbor Pakistan.

In the given circumstances, Pakistan’s populist Prime Minister ZA Bhutto’s epiphany that ‘all wars of our age have become total wars... It would be dangerous to plan for less, and our plans should include the nuclear deterrent’ must be our most conspicuous agenda.

qudratulla@gmail.com