Cracks in Hindutva camp spell doom for the doctrine

The saffron brotherhood has generally been known for its unity. The reason is that despite its long history — the Hindu supremacist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was founded in 1925 — its constituents have been late entrants to the corridors of power. As such, they did not have to contend with the pulls and pressures of competitive politics or internal personality clashes. It is only now that they have started experiencing such problems, which led to the split in the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.

It is this rupture that is behind the present confrontation between the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on one side, and the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on the other.

At its root is the politics of one-upmanship between the Shiv Sena and the MNS. Since both use street violence as their main political tactic, they need different enemies. The Shiv Sena's targets have been the Muslims. The MNS, however, has chosen the North Indians, mainly the Biharis, as its adversaries, presumably to underline its difference from the parent organisation.

Herein lies the basic reason for its confrontation with the RSS-BJP, since a large proportion of the latter's base of support is in the Hindi belt. There was no way, therefore, for the RSS to keep quiet while the Biharis lived in fear of being attacked in Mumbai.

The BJP was largely silent in the initial phases, evidently hoping that the MNS would see reason or turn to some other community to vent its ire. But the forthright manner in which the RSS, the head of the Sangh Parivar, stepped into the fray with its strident criticism of the MNS left the BJP with no option but to fall in line.

This assertiveness of the RSS bears the distinct stamp of its new chief, Mohan Bhagwat, who is also believed to have selected the BJP's new president, Nitin Gadkari.

Apart from the dangerous antics of the MNS, other issues, too, have cropped up, such as the inclusion of Pakistani cricketers in the Indian Premier League, which has been strongly articulated by Hindi film star Shah Rukh Khan. The Shiv Sena has been more vociferous on this matter because of the Muslim factor. But the clash between the two sections of the saffron camp is mainly over the targeting of Biharis.

Since there is no meeting ground between the two — as on the issue of castigating Muslims, for instance — there is little immediate chance of a resolution. For the MNS, there is no question of a retreat because of the political gains it has been able to make in the Mumbai area because of its aggressive espousal of the cause of the Marathi manoos or person.

It is a classical fascistic way of garnering support by blaming the immigrants for all the social and economic woes of the locals. The suspicion that MNS leader Raj Thackeray has succeeded in hitting the right chord among a section of Marathis, especially the lower middle class, explains why the Congress-led coalition government of the state has been reluctant to take tough action against the rabble-rouser and his hoodlums.

This permissive attitude of the state government is not a new development. The Shiv Sena, led by Raj's uncle Bal Thackeray, had also succeeded in striking roots in the 1960s because of the indulgence shown by the then Congress government, which used the new party to intimidate the powerful communist trade unions.

The ruling Congress might have continued to be soft on the uncle and nephew (particularly the latter, since he helps to divide the saffron vote) if Rahul Gandhi had not stepped in with his criticism of the MNS. The state government is also facing a court case charging it with inaction.

But any toughness it may show will be resented by the Congress's coalition partner, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), an essentially Maharashtra-based outfit which has no option but to play the parochial card.

While the involvement of Rahul Gandhi and Shah Rukh Khan has enlivened the scene, the entry of the RSS-BJP duo into the fray has queered the pitch for the Hindutva brigade. As long as the Muslims were the common enemies of the RSS-BJP and the Shiv Sena, as during the communal riots of 1992-93, they could act in unison. Their alliance also brought them to power in the state in 1995 for four years.

But now that they are virtually on a collision course, it is bad news for the saffron lobby. For one, the division of the far-right vote will ensure safe passage to the Congress. For another, the fallout from the rupture in the Hindutva camp will not remain confined to Maharashtra.

The departure of the Shiv Sena and the MNS from the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will be yet another occasion when a partner of the NDA will have left the alliance in recent months — the others being the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of Orissa and the Trinamul Congress of West Bengal.

But the fact that unlike the BJD and the Trinamul Congress, the Shiv Sena and the MNS are avowedly saffronites means that even the Hindutva camp has started to disintegrate, thereby marking the end of the Hindu nationalist campaign which began with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement more than two decades ago. Nothing can be more disheartening for the BJP after its defeat in two successive general elections.

But beyond the parting of ways in Maharashtra, what is noteworthy is how the pursuit of sectarianism leads to more and more divisive policies by targeting different communities. The BJP's political advance was based on the whipping up of anti-minority sentiments. As that wave started to recede with the electorate becoming wise to the party's cynical mixing of religion and politics, the cracks in the Hindutva camp in Maharashtra have virtually rung the death-knell for the conflict-ridden doctrine.