Busted: Assam CM’s Claim That Bajrang Dal has no Links With RSS

A leading figure in the Hindutva eco-system presently, despite his Congress past, the chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma —true to his background training at the RSS –‘boudhik shivirs’ (ideological training camps) has resorted to a the trademark Hindutva obfuscation

“The Bajrang Dal is not associated in any way with the Bharatiya Janata Party or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.”

[‘RSS, BJP don’t even have a distant connection with Bajrang Dal: Himanta on outfit providing arms training in Assam, The Indian Express, Delhi, September 12, 2023.]

This was spoken, not while addressing some Hindutva zealots or election meeting but in a meeting of Assam Assembly. He was responding to an adjournment motion on arms training during a Bajrang Dal camp in the state earlier in 2023.

Let us compare this claim of Himanta with the documents in the RSS archives. The central publication house of the RSS, the Suruchi Prakashan, published a book in Hindi, Param Vaibhav Ke Path Par (The Road to Great Supreme Glory) penned by a senior RSS ideologue, Sadanand Damodar Sapre in 1997 giving details of more than 40 organizations created by the RSS for different tasks. The BJP as a political organization figures prominently in it, clubbed with the ABVP, Hindu Jagaran Manch, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal, Durga Vahini, Swadeshi Jagaran Manch and Sanskar Bharti.  The preface of the book itself declared that,

“Without the knowledge of the different kinds of activities of the Sawyamsevaks (the volunteers of the RSS) the introduction of the RSS is incomplete. Keeping this in mind it has been attempted in this book to produce the brief information about the diverse activities of the Sawyamsevaks. This book covers the organizational status till 1996…We believe that this book will prove to be of use for those who want to understand the RSS with the Swyamsevaks.”

[Sapre, Sadanand D., Parm Vaibhav Ke Path Per, Suruchi (RSS central publication house), Delhi, 1997, p. 7.]

Bajrang Dal is a rogue child of RSS: A peep into the RSS Archives

This book described in detail the process of creation of VHP, Bajrang Dal and Durga Vahini by RSS (Pages 20-24). According to it, “under the guidance and prompting of worshippable Guruji (MS Golwalkar, the then Supremo of RSS)” VHP was founded in a meeting of Hindu saints held at Sandipani Ashram in Bombay (now Mumbai) on August 29, 1964. While discussing the activities of VHP as an appendage of RSS, Sadanand Sapre made it clear that Bajrang Dal and Durga Vahini were founded in order to organise Hindu youth both males and females. According to the description till 1996 Bajrang Dal and Durga Vahini had 2700 and 1100 units respectively spread over whole of the country.

RSS and Conspiracies

The above publication of the RSS shows how the organisation is run in a clandestine manner. It runs like a well-organised underground group through its subsidiaries and satellites. There has always been a conscious attempt to create confusion about its different fronts which provide RSS with the opportunity to dissociate with any of these as per its convenience.

For instance it used Hindu Jagaran Manch (HJM) for attacking Christians in late 1990s and when public opinion, media and Parliament seemed to turn against it, RSS denied any relation with HJM. Recently, when nefarious designs of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and Dharam Sansad were exposed before the Nation, RSS announced that these were independent organizations.

It will be interesting to know that many of these organizations have been organized in a clandestine manner, a characteristic of a Fascist set-up. For instance while giving the details of Hindu Jagaran Manch (HJM), the book says,

“From the point of view of Hindu awakening this kind of forums (HJM) at present are active in 17 states with different names like ‘Hindu Manch’ in Delhi, ‘Hindu Munani’ in Tamilnadu, ‘Hinduekjut’ in Maharashtra. These are forums, not associations or organizations, that’s why it is not required to have membership, registration and elections.”

[Sapre, Sadanand D.,  Parm Vaibhav Ke Path Per, Suruchi (RSS central publication house), Delhi, 1997, p. 64.]

It is clear that these work as underground organisations to avoid scrutiny by law and government. Such an organisational mode provides an opportunity to RSS to disown any individual or organization.

RSS indulges in conspiracies too. It can be known by the following disclosure in Param Vaibhav Ke Path Par about a case in Delhi immediately after Partition:

“Swayamsevaks had posed to have adopted Musalman religion in order to gain the confidence of Delhi Muslim League for knowing their conspiracies.”

[Sapre, Sadanand D., Param Vaibhav Ke Path Per (Hindi), Suruchi, Delhi, 1997, p. 86.]

What these swayamsevaks, impersonating as Muslims, on the eve of Independence were doing was made clear by none other than Dr. Rajendra Prasad who later became first President of the Indian Republic.

In a letter to the first Home Minister of India, Sardar Patel, on 14 March 1948, Prasad wrote:

“I am told that RSS people have a plan of creating trouble. They have got a number of men dressed as Muslims and looking like Muslims who are to create trouble with the Hindus by attacking them and thus inciting the Hindus. Similarly there will be some Hindus among them who will attack Muslims and thus incite Muslims. The result of this kind of trouble amongst the Hindus and Muslims will be to create a conflagration.”

[Rajendra Prasad to Sardar Patel (March 14, 1948) cited in Neerja Singh (ed.), Nehru – Patel: Agreement Within Difference—Select Documents & Correspondences 1933-1950, NBT, Delhi, p. 43.]

These facts about an anti-constitutional (read anti-national) organisations spawned by the RSS need to be shared with all those individuals and organisations which are faithful to a democratic-secular Indian polity. With such nefarious appendages of RSS who needs any foreign enemy to undo India or Bharat.

Hurry Up! Time is running out!!

Views and opinions expressed in this article is solely that of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views or position of SabrangIndia and this site.