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WHAT earlier promised to emerge as a stable coalition has now started displaying cracks. The current fragility of the National Democratic Alliance owes little to the self-activity of the opposition parties; they continue to be mired in a morass of self-delusion and squabbling. The problem is entirely an internal one. The BJP, principal partner in the NDA, appears cornered. And contrary to expectations, the strains have been created not by a minor partner misbehaving and demanding more than its due share, but by its ideological fountainhead, the RSS.

For nearly a fortnight, instead of debating the implications of the much touted millennium budget, the Parliament was caught in a log jam. The opposition stalled all proceeding demanding that the Gujarat government revert its decision allowing government servants to take part in the activities of the RSS. Though the central government pointed out that it had no constitutional locus standi in the matter; that the RSS was a highly respected, non-political, socio-cultural organisation; and the RSS leadership itself clarified that it had not sought the revokation of the ordinance listing it as a proscribed organisation for government servants – no one took these clarifications/protestations seriously.

Even the constituents of the NDA – the DMK, TDP and Trinamul Congress – made evident their displeasure. Finally, the government had to relent. Senior party functionaries were despatched to Gandhinagar to make the state government see reason. The matter was resolved, but the government lost face. More than ever before, the schism between the BJP and the RSS came to the fore.

It has been evident for some time now that far from being jubilant about the BJP coming to power for the third time, the RSS leadership appears extremely uncomfortable with the actions and pronouncements of its ideological and organisational offspring. For years, and through some rather difficult times, the RSS has held firm to its worldview. Over time, those sympathetic to its Weltanschauung have grown in numbers. It has even acquired legitimacy in the eyes of the modern, urban middle class, more specifically those belonging to the upper caste-class strata.

It now faces the discomfiting situation of many of its favoured formulations being sacrificed at the altar of pragmatism and coalition dharma. Despite being in power (though through a surrogate) both at the centre and in a few crucial states, it has been unable to place Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, what to speak of the temple at Ayodhya on the agenda, even if on the backburner. Its preferences about swadeshi stand sidelined in the frenzied search for foreign capital and the rush to meet WTO guidelines; the committee to review the Constitution ignores it and makes clear that the basic structure will remain unaltered; even national pride has been given a go by, if the supplication displayed during the Clinton visit is any indication.

None of this can go down well with those who believe that they live by values and principles. Worse, those faithful deputed to keep the party on ‘the straight and narrow’ themselves seem to have been corrupted by the lure of power.

Is this because the basic relationship between the BJP and the RSS is altering? If in the past the BJP appeared dependant on the RSS, not just for ideological coherence but for dedicated cadres during elections, the situation today seems to have been reversed. The BJP, by reinventing itself, enlarging its social catchment and engineering effective coalitions, has grown from a 8% party to one garnering close to a quarter of the vote. The ability to dispense patronage and collect funds has provided it relative autonomy from the RSS.

The RSS, on the other hand, like most ideologically rigid cadre-based organisations seems to be facing difficulty in renewing itself. Its ability to attract fresh cadres, particularly from among the ‘suitable’ young remains suspect, despite claims about the phenomenal growth of the shakhas. Its efforts at social engineering by opening up leadership positions to the OBCs has often boomeranged. Remember the ‘revolts’ of a Kalyan Singh or a Shankersinh Waghela.

Yet, it cannot quite afford to fundamentally rock the boat. It is still unlikely that any other regime would be more favourably disposed to it; the chances of a deal like the one with Indira Gandhi in 1980 remain low. So all it can do is to fester in anguish, episodically inflicting pinpricks through a Murli Manohar Joshi, the flavour of the season. The recent elevation of K.S. Sudarshan as the Sarsanghchalak makes clear that the RSS is unwilling to live with its marginalisation. If anything, it will seek to reassert itself. Clearly we have interesting, and dangerous, times ahead.

 

Harsh Sethi