Muslims are victims of leadership: RSS's Dr Amrut Kadiwala

Dr Amrut Kadiwala, the outgoing chief (prant sanghchalak) of the Gujarat unit of the RSS, has just passed the baton to his younger colleague, Dr Jayanti Bhadesia. Kadiwala, who is 73 and currently member of the state RSS executive committee, has spent more than 60 years in the organisation. In an interview with DNA, he talked about his life in the Sangh, its ideology and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.

How do you look at Gujarat RSS's activities since you got associated with it?
I joined the Sangh when I was in Standard 5 in 1950. At that time, 100-125 shakhas were functional in Gujarat. Today the Sangh has its presence in all the districts of the state and nearly 90% of the talukas. If you consider a cluster of 10 villages as a mandala, it is active in 35-40% of the mandalas in the state. Overall, it has its presence in around 1,000 places in Gujarat.

What is the main work of the RSS?
Sangh's main work is to foster patriotism in the people of the country. And, for this, we aim at the overall development of the karyakarta or swayamsevak (worker or volunteer). We ensure his physical and intellectual development through one hour of shakha every day and different kinds of training.

What does the Sangh expect from this?
The Sangh's basic philosophy was outlined by its founder, Dr Hedgewar. He said that as Hindus comprise 85% of this country's population, if the Hindu community is united, cultured and patriotic, any problem that this country faces can be easily solved. So the Sangh has been working to raise awareness among Hindus and that work is still going on. To continue that work we prepare karykartas. Between 1925 and 1940, the Sangh has extended its work to all parts of the country.

Why did the RSS create a political party?
Till 1947, the Sangh worked by itself. It had no hand in Gandhi's assassination but there was no one to present its point of view in parliament or in the state assemblies. The influence of Gandhiji's thought was all pervasive in the country and the Congress was also influential. There was a ban on the Sangh. So some workers of the Sangh thought that the organisation should have representation. Even then the Sangh had no plan to have its own political party. But Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee met Guruji (Madhavrao Golwalkar) the then Sarsanghchalak (chief) of the RSS, with his plan to float a political party with a Hindu ideology. He requested him to provide some trained volunteers of the Sangh for his party. So Guruji provided him Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Nanaji Deshmukh, Atal Behari Vajpayee and other leaders. With them Shayma Prasad Mukherjee started the Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1951. Yet even today the Sangh is totally different from the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

How can RSS swayamsevaks be separate from the Sangh while working in some other organisation?
Swayamsevaks work in the organisation to which they are sent for a specific purpose but their relationship with the Sangh will be always be there. They represent the Sangh's ideology in the organisation to which they are sent.

Do you think Gujarat CM Narendra Modi has successfully represented the Sangh's ideology in the 10 years of his rule in the state?
It is the Sangh's belief that wherever its volunteers work, they should work in the interest of society or region as per the organisation's thinking. Modi has been in power for 10 years and we can see that there has been development in the state. The Sangh expects a swayamsevak to lead in the area of his work. In that sense, Modi has done his job well.

What is your take on his Sadbhavana fast and efforts to win over Muslims? Is it in tune with the Sangh's ideology?
There is no reason to oppose Sadbhavana. The Sangh is doing its work but the chief minister is not in the Sangh. He is in a political party. For someone in a political party, it is necessary to be elected and come to power. For that, votes of communities other than Hindus are also needed. Hence, Modi is making efforts in his own way to get the votes of other communities as well. In my view, there is nothing wrong in it. Supporting a Muslim or promoting Muslims is also not anti-Hindu. The Hindus have accepted everyone. The real problem with the Muslims is that their own leadership has been misleading them.

Gujarat is said to be the 'laboratory of Saffron ideology'. What is your take?
I don't agree. There are 50 different allied organisations of Sangh such as the ABVP, Vanvasi Kalyan Parishad, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, the VHP etc. I can say that the coordination between these organisations is very good in Gujarat. So if the BJP is winning in elections, all these organisation have contributed to its victory.

Assembly elections are round the corner in Gujarat. What would be the Sangh's strategy?
The Sangh doesn't ask anyone to favour or oppose any political party. It is up to the swayamsevaks - after all, they are individuals in their own right - whom they support or help in elections. They are also living in the same society. Hence they can take their own
decisions.