SUHAS PALSHIKAR - Sanathan Sanstha, a Less Known But Potent Member of the Hindutva Family
NB: An excellent analysis by Professor Palshikar. He analyses the specific features of the Hindutva ideology and the central place in it of cultivated violence and aggression. He also reminds us that Hindutva is not Hinduism. Those who conflate the two, those who confuse religion with the communal use of religion will end up strengthening authoritarian politics.
'The opponents of this variety of Hindutva do not seem to have the ideological wherewithal to counter this paradigm from becoming a center of public sentiment because these opponents revel in antagonizing Hindus more than countering Hindutva..'
The arrest of an activist having links with the Sanatan
Samstha has somewhat deflected attention from the cause of the arrest — the
possible involvement in the murder of Comrade Govind Pansare — and instead
focused attention on the Samstha and its activists. For those who are close
observers of Maharashtra’s Hindutva politics, the Samstha, though shrouded in
mystery, was not entirely unknown. Earlier, after Narendra Dabholkar was gunned
down by unidentified assailants and then following the assassination of
Pansare, progressive circles in Maharashtra had raised doubts about the
involvement of some organization or activists from the larger body of Hindutva
organizations. Sections of the Congress now claim that they did indeed want a
ban on the Sanatan Samstha but the Centre (then under the same party’s
leadership) did not heed. What we do not know is what the Congress as a party
did on the ground to counter the propaganda of the Samstha.
In our contemporary world of ‘progressive’ and ‘Hindutva’
forces, the many nuances of both these positions are easily lost. The Sanatan
Samstha would thus easily be clubbed together with many other pro-Hindutva
organizations. A better way to situate this rather less known organization
would be to trace the evolution of Hindutva politics in the state during last
few decades.
Both for the general public and for many of the critics of
Hindutva, Hindutva is only the ideology of a monolith led by the RSS. This
generalization is understandable in view of the overall coordination and
control of the RSS over most ‘Hindutva’ organizations. Many are allegedly
floated by the members of the RSS themselves. However, in some key respects
small outfits like the Sanatan Samstha have a niche existence that may not sit
well with the larger and more common politics of Hindutva.
Attraction for pseudo-science: The RSS, under Guruji Golwalkar in particular, was inclined
to an orthodox understanding of society and religion and held the pursuit of
spiritual prowess in high esteem. There has always been an attraction towards
pseudo-science among orthodox circles who claim that Vedic knowledge was not
devoid of science and thus seek to explain many traditional practices and
rituals in terms of their scientific utility.
This orthodox variant of Hindutva
was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of Hindutva propounded by Savarkar.
Savarkar did not have much patience with orthodoxy and traditional practices.
This was in part due to his rationalist approach but in greater part because of
his understanding of nationalism as requiring complete unity and uniformity—one
nation, one language, one costume, etc. Savarkar argued that a lack of strength
is the main impediment of the Hindu nation and to overcome that, it was
necessary to bury meaningless practices and divisions within the Hindu society.
The more orthodox minded RSS variety of Hindutva could not so easily do away
with tradition and traditional ways of organizing society or regulating
culture. Also, Savarkar did not have much use for caste. The RSS at that time
held caste to be a central principle of social organization of Hindu society.
Only in the 1970s did the RSS begin to transform under
Balasaheb Deoras. Two things happened during that period. One, the RSS began to
shed off its more orthodox identity and adopt a somewhat catholic approach to
caste. Two, its engagement with politics increased and became visible. The
fig-leaf of ‘cultural’ activity was set aside. This transformation also meant
expansion of Hindutva politics among sections beyond the Brahmins.
The emergence of Hindutva groups: It was in late 1970s and the ‘80s that new militant outfits
claiming Hindutva ideology mushroomed in many parts of Maharashtra; they
propagated militant nationalism and an anti-Muslim stance, the usual Hindutva
ideas, however, they targeted youth from semi-urban centers and mainly
belonging to non-Brahmin communities. Hindu Ekata (Hindu
Unity) and Patit Pawan Sanghatana were more prominent among
them. In the course of time, activists from these were quietly amalgamated into
the larger universe of Hindutva organizations in the state. This helped
politics of Hindutva in the state to expand its social base and acceptability.
During the 1990s, a sizable section among the Maratha community turned to the
Shiv Sena and the BJP. This shift could be seen only as a tactical political
move but still underscores the acceptability of Hindutva ideas among the newer
leadership of the Maratha community.
While these momentous developments were taking place, the
more orthodox elements had to lie low. We do not know what exactly happened to
the core orthodox element. Some of them may have adapted to the new version but
many must have remained somewhat flummoxed and frustrated over this ‘dilution’
of Hindutva into a contingent political project. Their idea of Hindutva
certainly shared the anxieties over secular democratic politics with the other
Hindutva organizations; but they were also worried over the distractions of
power and wanted to operate strictly within the more traditional Hindu
cosmology of social order, good and evil.
It is reasonable therefore to surmise that the orthodox core
that was deeply uncomfortable with the political turn and also with the
non-religious formulation of Hindutva may have chosen to follow its own path of
formulating, propagating and acting on the basis of ‘true’ and original –Sanatan—idea
of Hindu faith. This organization began work in the 1990s mainly in the regions
bordering Maharashtra and Goa and hence it has good network of followers in
Konkan and Goa besides parts of South Maharashtra, in Sangli district in
particular. Not much is known about their activities through the mainstream
media and their website is not very forthcoming, but they run a daily, Sanatan
Prabhat and ever since the arrest in the Pansare murder case has
happened, the Daily has been full of venom for the ‘anti-Hindu’ progressives,
media and police etc. It makes instructive reading in order to understand the
ideology and politics of the Samstha.
Sanatan Samstha is a curious mixture. Believing in the
ultimate truth in Hindu religious faith, the Samstha also believes in the Hindu
nation—thus mixing traditional beliefs with modern ideas. As per its calendar,
the current phase is part of theKaliyug (the dark ages) when true
religion would be constantly under attack, sin would be prominent and a new
incarnation of the almighty would be awaited for emancipation of mankind. The
Samstha specializes in training the devotees in spirituality but the sadhana –
study — it undertakes includes teachings about the contemporary moment in the
light of a certain understanding of the universe. In fact, only recently, a
Marathi daily has published extracts from the booklet of teachings that the
Samstha propagates among its followers. Titled ‘Kshatradharm’ (Religion
of the Kshatirya) the booklet gives pretty fearsome — though occasionally comic
insights — into the thinking of the Sanatan Samstha (http://epaper.loksatta.com/598945/loksatta-pune/27-09-2015#page/6/2).
A strong belief in violence: That it divides the people among followers and enemies (the
evil ones) is only one part of it. More important are the solutions it offers
to ensure the victory of the followers over the evil ones. The Samstha clearly
believes in violence as required for religious purposes. We do not know how
widespread the teachings of the Samstha are among the general public or what
exactly is the extent of its core following. This is something the state police
may know. But for unknown reasons, the police – during the Congress-NCP rule —
chose to sit on the information. Now, the state government is run by the BJP and
the Shiv Sena and the latter has already come out in defense of the Sanatan
Samstha, arguing argued that it would be wrong to ban or restrict the Samstha
on presumption of guilt. Statements in support of the Samstha by many BJP
workers have also been publicized in the Sanatan Prabhat. So, in
the current political context, it would be even more difficult for the police
to effectively unearth the networks and ideological moorings of the Sanatan
Samstha.
But is the Samstha a fringe organization among the Hindutva
network of organizations? The daily newspaper and the many other publications
brought out by the Samstha are by no means confined only to Maharashtra.
Publications in Hindi, Gujarati and Kannada are in circulation. So, the Sanatan
Samstha and the thinking it expounds surely cannot be confined to only
Maharashtra. This issue of its geographic spread takes opens up larger
questions.
Hindutva is contemporarily taking multiple expressions. RSS
and BJP represent the more political expression of Hindutva. VHP, Bajrang Dal
or Sri Ram Sene represent the more militant platforms that might or might not
work within the diktats of the RSS-BJP.
However, the case of the Sanatan
Samstha presents us with a more complicated reality. That reality consists of a
more deep rooted but diffuse public sentiment favorable to traditional
understanding of good and evil in religious terms, a traditional understanding
of the Kshatriya ethic and therefore a more militant, more intolerant element
within Hindu society, an element prone to violence as a religious necessity for
preserving the traditional social forms and mores of behaviour. These public
sentiments mean that Hindutva is more of a ground reality than its opponents
care to accept; that however Brahmanical the understanding may be, its
following extends much beyond the Brahmanical upper castes; and that RSS-BJP
variant of Hindutva will have to accommodate this ‘sanatan’ Hindutva.
To put it in a somewhat clichéd manner, contemporary
Hindutva operates in the Sawarkar-Golwalkar paradigm and whatever the apparent
inconsistencies this paradigm may throw up, critics would be making a msitake
if they take satisfaction from those inconsistencies instead of realizing that
a clumsy compromise on questions of rituals and traditional understanding of
society are only secondary to the idea of Hindu nation and its imagined
enemies; what comes uppermost are ideas of a Kshatriya ethic (to be followed by
all Hindus) and recourse to violence as a religious duty in times of Kaliyug.
The opponents of this variety of Hindutva do not seem to have the ideological
wherewithal to counter this paradigm from becoming a center of public sentiment
because these opponents revel in antagonizing Hindus more than countering
Hindutva.
See also
The Broken Middle - my essay on the 30th anniversary of 1984
The Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi: Inquiry Commission Report (1969)
RSS tradition of manufacturing facts to suit their ideology
The Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi: Inquiry Commission Report (1969)
RSS tradition of manufacturing facts to suit their ideology
Bleeding Punjab Warns: 1947 Report by Comrades Dhanwantri & PC Joshi
RSS Declared Unlawful: Text of GOI communique February 4, 1948
RSS Declared Unlawful: Text of GOI communique February 4, 1948
Mindless glorification of Hitler in Gujarat's textbooks
Infochange Agenda 'Speaking Freely'
Purushottam Agrawal’s letter to the Hindi Akademi of Delhi on artistic freedom
Smruti Koppikar - Maharashtra CM has no will to pursue my father’s murder
Petition in Supreme Court Accuses NIA of Soft-Pedaling Hindutva Terror Cases
Petition in Supreme Court Accuses NIA of Soft-Pedaling Hindutva Terror Cases
Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti
Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism in India
Rationalist under threat of arrest for exposing the “miracle”
India's god laws fail the test of reason
India's new theocracy
Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism in India
Rationalist under threat of arrest for exposing the “miracle”
India's god laws fail the test of reason
India's new theocracy
Voice of rationality silenced by two bullets, shot point-blank
The Broken Middle - my essay on the 30th anniversary of 1984
The Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi: Inquiry Commission Report (1969)
The Abolition of truth
RSS tradition of manufacturing facts to suit their ideology
CPI's Homage to Gandhiji October 2, 1947 // CP's Appeal to the People of Pakistan August 15, 1947
V.D. Savarkar and Gandhi’s murder
Madhu Limaye's (senior socialist leader) observations on the RSS (1979)
A Hard Rain Falling (on private armies and political violence in India) (EPW, July 2012)
THE DELHI DECLARATION OF JANUARY 18, 1948
