The ironies of history. Seventy-five years ago, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was founded by a group that thought of itself as a moral force. For decades it waited for its political wings, first the Jan Sangh and then the BJP, to come to power and change the world, or at least the country. Now the BJP heads a government but the RSS, far from being the power behind the throne, is the in-house opposition party.Just when the Government thinks all is going swimmingly, up pops the RSS with some hobby horse or the other. It has a sense of economics that died with the Soviet Union. The market is vile, multinationals are downright horrid. In addition, it has raked up bizarre issues like the "swadeshikaran" (Indianisation) of churches and asking Muslims to acknowledge their Hindu origins. All quite unnecessary.Over the past week, 60,000 swayamsevaks gathered in Agra to celebrate the RSS' platinum jubilee. If the sight of old men in khaki shorts was, as always, a trifle bemusing, the discourse bordering on economic isolationism and religious intolerance caused more concern.Our team of Senior Editor S. Prasannarajan and Associate Editor Farzand Ahmed travelled to witness the conference, which Prasannarajan, who wrote his story in a style that is not quite standard political reportage, calls "a mix of cowdung capitalism and Hindu paranoia".The RSS is entitled to its views but the problem is that it makes an impact on governments it is associated with. In 1979, the Morarji Desai regime fell on the issue of Janata MPs' dual membership of the RSS. Now the RSS is giving even the prime minister, a self-declared swayamsevak, a hard time. With its immense manpower, the RSS could render enormous service if it took its role of a "cultural organisation" seriously.It has performed yeoman service in providing relief after natural calamities yet its thrust is negative. Over two decades we have carried 11 articles on the RSS. In 1979, we published our first cover story on it: "Waiting for Direction". After 21 years, it has found a direction but unfortunately the world seems headed in the opposite one.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Oct 30, 2000--- ENDS ---
