Reasons for Keeping Muslim Stooges
Mohammed Mahmood
When Emergency was clamped by the Indira regime in 1975 among politicians imprisoned were the leaders of the RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami (Hind). Many of them were put in the same jail. The Jamaatis, by their sheer moralism and pietism, convinced the sanghis that the moral regeneration of India lies in the mutual understanding and collaboration between the two God-fearing groups. When emergency was lifted in 1977 and these people came out of jails, the Jamaatis tried for a long time to create a rapport with the sanghis to further their understanding arrived at during their imprisonment. But the sanghis cold-shouldered them and never responded to their overtures. The reason?
The sanghis believe in a religion that is rooted in a particular race and culture. It’s a self-contained and closed system. One is naturally born in the Vedic religion. Those born outside the Vedic fold are excluded and there is no provision for proselytization and conversion. Thus Muslims and followers of other religions are inexorably and deterministically barred from the sangh as well as its front organizations. It is understandable that the could not countenance the presence of “chuggi” beards in their “chintan” and “manthan” and military drills.The Jan Sangh, founded in 1950 as the political front of the RSS and the reincarnation of the All-India Hindu Mahasabha, had no mercy and place either for Muslims or other religious communities because it would have been contrary to their agenda and the deterministic policies. I don’t remember any Mukhiarwa or Sahjanawa or Akabarwa being ever admitted to the ranks of the Jan Sangh.
Then came the post-Emergency merger of the erstwhile anti-Congress parties and groups into the Janata Party. It won the election of 1977 and was in government for a little over two years. During this period the former Jan Sanghi ministers at the Centre and in the states took full advantage of their power to effect mass deployment of the RSS elements in all branches of administration which caused the chagrin of other groups. The rest is history. The rivals demanded the disaffiliation of Janata Party ministers from the RSSS which they refused. Consequently, Janata Party was split into many pieces. Out of this turmoil the former Jan Sangh reemerged as the Bhartiya Janata Party.
For a very long time the doors of BJP were closed for other communities. But it was during the rath yatra of pre-demolition days that for the first time a Muslim stooge was inducted, who later became the loudest raiser of the slogan of “Jai Shri Ram” when the Ajodhya mosque was being razed to the ground.
After him another stooge was taken in for being the son-in-law of a sanghi leader. Both now enjoy their political pension as members of Indian Parliament.
Now back to the basic point. Why is the BJP-RSSS combine keeping Muslim stooges?
The reasons are not far-fetched. The Sanghis have learnt their political lessons from their “pseudo-secularist” rival.
1. Having some Muslim show-boys in the organization gives it legitimacy as a “secular” body. Otherwise, it is a brand ethnic and culturally exclusive organization.
2. These show-boys and stooges provide the sanghis a proof that it is not against the Muslims. Although fundamentally its whole platform is anti-Muslim.
3. At election time such stooges may be helpful in confusing and dividing the Muslims to the benefit of the sanghis.
