“Sangh has a steely resolve to stand on the side of brotherhood, amity and peace” said Mohan Bhagwat.

During the current troubled times, when there is a concerted move by a section of the society to inject the poison of communal disharmony, the recent moves by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and even the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have come as welcome news.

The shift in the stand of the RSS, which had been maintaining a stoic silence after incidents of lynchings and communal attacks, first came to limelight about a month ago.

Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat met five prominent Muslims and discussed ways to bring down the temperatures. He clarified the doubts expressed by the members of the delegation and also informed them about the aspects which irk the Hindus. It included a section of Muslims calling Hindus Kafirs and the question about cow slaughter. The meeting ended with a consensus to hold more such dialogues.

It might be a fact that the initiative was taken by the prominent Muslims but the acceptance of the request and discussion on various issues frankly was something that had not happened in a long time involving any senior RSS or BJP leader.

Mohan Bhagwat in fact went a step ahead and accepted the invitation by a Muslim cleric to visit an Imambara and a madrasa. He went round the madrasa and sought to clear his doubts.

The gesture was indeed commendable coming from the head of an organisation which was being viewed with suspicion by the minorities, particularly the Muslims.

Again, during an event to mark the RSS the Foundation Day on Vijayadashami, he reiterated that the “so-called minorities” face no danger and Hindutva organisations will continue to reach out to them to assuage their fears” he said and added that “there is scare-mongering among so-called minorities that there is a danger to them because Hindus are organised. This has not happened in the past nor will it happen in future. This is neither the nature of Sangh nor of Hindus”.

A few days later he made another important point when he sought to dispel “fear mongering” about the Sangh and said an impression was being created that the organisation was against the minorities. Referring to his meeting with Muslim delegation, he said that the “Sangh has a steely resolve to stand on the side of brotherhood, amity and peace”.

Although a section of society, not just limited to the minorities, might take his statements with a pinch of salt, these certainly mark a turn in the strategy of the RSS. Some may say it is naive to believe that there is a change of heart in the Sangh parivar. Others might say it could be due to an internal politics between the RSS and the BJP which had been gaining strength and might had taken some recent decisions which were not palatable to the Sangh.

What’s also significant is an outreach by the BJP to Muslims from OBC communities, called Pasmanda, who had been dominated by Ashrafs or upper castes who had been dominating the traditional leadership of Muslims. The Pasmanda Muslim conference organised in Lucknow by the BJP was a strategic move by the party to expand its support base. Even this gesture, which is certainly a political move to garner support, would help in sending positive signals to the community.

Prime minister Narendra Modi had earlier spoken about the Pasmanda Muslims at the BJP national executive meeting a few months ago and had mentioned the need to address the problems of Muslims from backward communities. Both the prime minister and the Sangh chief had also spoken highly of the leading Muslim-Yadav leader Mulayam Singh Yadav who had passed away recently.

Significantly the fiery chief minister Yogi Adityanath has also toned down his blatantly communal comments on the minorities in the recent past. After the deafening silence of the top leaders on incidents of communal violence in the past, any such initiative is welcome.

Also Read: RSS chief’s statement unlikely to change fundamental ideology of Divisive Politics

It might be part of the strategy of the RSS and BJP to widen their support base among the minorities and the underprivileged sections of the society but even these gestures would hopefully check the communal hatred being injected by some who are evidently more loyal than the king.

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