HVK Archives: Anderson foresees brothers of saffron drifting apart
Anderson foresees brothers of saffron drifting apart - The Economic Times (New Delhi)
Aziz Haniffa
()
April 28, 1998
Title: Anderson foresees brothers of saffron drifting apart
Author: Aziz Haniffa
Publication: The Economic Times (New Delhi)
Date: April 28, 1998
An RSS expert in the Clinton Administration feels that tensions
are bound to develop between the BJP and its ideological parent,
the RSS, in the wake of the former seemingly pushing its
ideological baggage to the backburner.
Walter Anderson, author of The Brotherhood in Saffron published
over a decade ago, which following the advent of the BJP-led
coalition government, has become required reading in South Asian
circles here, predicted that tensions would increase between the
BJP and the RSS, particularly since the BJP has grown beyond
being a lobby group for the RSS. He said it was ironical that
the BJ had now grown into "a much bigger organisation and much
more complex," so much so that it could now devour the latter.
In a wide-ranging interview Anderson, chief of the South Asia
Division in the Intelligence and Research Bureau (INR) of the US
Department of State, acknowledged that the RSS was becoming
marginalised and they don't have the clout they used to have.
"The RSS is becoming more and more insignificant to the BJP. It
hasn't happened to that extent yet though I think it is
happening, " he said.
He said it was unlikely the BJP would abandon the RSS any time
soon "because after all the RSS provides workers and lots of
cadres. But you have the differences between ideological
organisation and the party, which was more interested in
mobilising more and more votes." He said the BJP had now become
an organisation seeking power, which was not the case until about
10 years ago when it was essentially a party that was formed to
protect the RSS from another ban.
Anderson, who was a Fulbright scholar in India in the 1970s, said
the clue to the evolution of this possible rift between the BJP
and the RSS would be how the parliamentary side and the
organisational side of the party continue to stack UP.
"The most significant people in the BJP for the first time in the
party's history have moved over to the parliamentary side," he
noted. "(Lal Krishna) Advani has no party position, obviously
(Prime Minister Atal Behari) Vajpayee has no party position. You
don't have a unity of party position and organisation anymore,"
he added.
Anderson said the new head of the party, Kushabhau Thakre, "is an
organisational man par excellence. (But) He is not an ideas
person. He is not a conceptual person. He is not a person who has
charisma."
Because of this real power of the party for the first time being
on the parliamentary side, Anderson predicted that fissures
between the BJP and the RSS could begin to manifest themselves,
particularly since you have still a fairly residual RSS element
on the organisational side.
Anderson said, "This never had been a problem before. In fact,
if anything, the organisational side has always tried to control
the parliamentary side. (But) now you get the unusual situation
where all the heavy hitters are on the parliamentary side for the
first time, and you have a president who is not a heavy hitter."
He acknowledged that the RSS was still a major force for the BJP
in elections, vis-a-vis campaigning and raising money since it
forms a large part of the organisational cadre, and acknowledged
that a full split would weaken the party. It would however not
cripple the party because its leverage is not as powerful as it
once was.
He said for the time being, the RSS, even though some in their
cadres believe they have been betrayed by the likes of Advani and
Vajpayee, would remain silent primarily to prevent any kind of
embarrassment to the BJP government and also because "what are
their alternatives? The alternatives in their view are worse."
However, Anderson noted that at the last BJP National Council
session there was some grumbling around the edges and the BJP
leadership found it necessary to spend a considerable part of
their speeches justifying the new programme.
Anderson said Vajpayee's remarks to the effect that "if any issue
in spite of its inherent validity acquires a strongly ideological
character, in fact so strong as to make coalition governance and
hence stable government difficult, it is only proper to leave it
out" clearly conveyed the message that ushing Hindutva damages
national unity, which is a larger objective."
But he also pointed to the RSS newspapers like the Organiser,
Panchajanya and other publications that are beginning to voice
some problems with the BJP. This notion of whether the BJP is
becoming a Hinduised version of the Congress."
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