RSS: changing from exclusionary to inclusive?
Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City (NYC), perhaps would have been embarrassed to find the volume of comments on X condemning his statement on RSS and its chief, Mohan Bhagwat. Better to call it a smear campaign, as many of them are vitriolic and bigoted. Not only the digital platform, but the entire lapdog visual media also did not spare the moment to shoot the messenger.
For Mamdani, it's not uncommon. He has been facing serious accusations since his electoral bid to the NYC mayoral post. Some called him a terrorist, others antisemitic, and President Trump called Mamdani a left lunatic. However, he is unflinching in his stand on Palestine and his criticism of Netanyahu.
It's interesting to note the level of Sangh Parivar criticism and the accusations of the US far right. Trump never called him a Jihadist, though he threatened to arrest him. Mamdani’s critics in the US never tried to brand him as pro-Pakistan. On the other hand, Sangh handles are desperate in proving his allegiance to Pakistan. All he did was to attend the Independence Day celebrations conducted by the Pakistan Americans in New York. Shehzad Poonawala, a spokesperson of the BJP government, termed Mamdani a Hamas supporter. The Republic TV anchor, Arnab Goswami, echoed the same narrative with some twist and said, "Mamdani supported the conspirators of the World Trade Center attack". An allegation none had raised before.
In fact, almost all Sangh people want to portray Mamdani as an Islamist or, even further, an Islamic terrorist. The criticism never rose above the level of character assassination. Actually, Mamdani was by no means alone is expressing reservations about Bhagwat's New York event and the politics of RSS. Several civil rights groups and human rights organizations, including the US Religious Council for Interfaith Relations (USCIRF) opposed the RSS chief. The panel was even stronger in its criticism of RSS, particularly its treatment of minorities in India. It went to the extent of asking the US government to revoke Bhagwat’s visa. However, Mamdani was the main target of the Sangh cyber army. It's rather easy to target Mamdani, as he carries a Muslim name and his positions on right-wing fascism are manifest. His opposition to the Modi government is also loud and clear. These critics were waiting for a chance to pound on him.
The Sangh camp followed the same steps as the far-right Jews took when Mamdani called Netanyahu a war criminal and said he would arrest him. It unleashed a plethora of criticism from the Republicans and far-right Jews.
What was it that made the Indian saffron team and media so virulent and uneasy? The simple rationale is their inability to defend themselves from the criticisms about the exclusionary ideology of RSS and its hatred towards the minority communities in India. Though the RSS, the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party of India, claims to be a voluntary organization that is committed to service, it is actually a radical Hindu nationalist organization banned three times since independence. The ultimate goal of the organization is Hindu Rashtra, and not a democratic, secular republic. This is what Mamdani pointed out: that India had a pluralistic past, and now it's waning.
Interestingly, Bhgawat toned down his rhetoric this time and tried to give an impression that RSS is inclusive in its approach. "If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he ceases to be a Hindu" were his actual words. He emphasized that unity in diversity is the civilizational character of India.
Anyhow, the event helped to draw global attention to the activities of RSS, and naturally it opened the discussion on its Hindutva ideologies. The organization had to soften its stance, at least in words. As Kapil Sibal, India'a leading lawyer suggested, if the RSS chief truly means it, then he should be ready to declare it in India also, and more than that follow it up with action. "Wise words abroad, silence at home. Words don't matter, actions must speak!" Kapil said on X.