ONCE again, the pen-pushers of the Modi government are busy churning out theories seeking to trivialise the rabid growth of communal and other forms of intolerance in the country. Such media moguls, particularly in the electronic media, have been advancing the old `worn out theory’, once again, of a `fringe’ as opposed to the `core’. The country is being misled that it is a fringe that is responsible for this menacingly growing intolerance and that the `core’ is not responsible. `The law and order machinery needs to control the fringe’. The RSS/BJP are, hence, not responsible! They seek to absolve the `core’ from all its responsibility in perpetrating such intolerance and associated hate and violence. The distinction between the `core’ and the `fringe’ is a spurious distinction. It is the very ideology of the RSS which breeds the venom of intolerance in pursuit of their ideological project of seeking to convert the secular democratic Indian Republic into their version of a rabidly intolerant fascistic `Hindu Rashtra’. The `core’ and the `fringe’ is like separating the RSS from the BJP while it is amply clear that the BJP has all along functioned only as political arm of the RSS. The RSS’s spokesperson, at their recent Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal held at Ranchi, this week, has preposterously pronounced that such allegations of the spread of communal intolerance are regularly made against the RSS, but all of them have been found to be untrue. They claim that the RSS is unnecessarily being put in the “dock” as part of a “conspiracy” by some forces. These columns have, in the past on many occasions, carried extracts from the enquiry commission reports of eminent judges who were asked to enquire into various communal riots that took place in India. In all such reports, upto the 1992-93 communal riots in Mumbai and the subsequent bomb blasts (Justice Srikrishna Commission Report), the RSS was specifically named and indicted as being responsible for the spread of hate and venom that led to such communal riots. Matters of history, however, have never been convenient for the RSS/BJP. Hence, history needs to be rewritten by them. The RSS’s record on the issue of imparting militant `Hindutva’ training has a long history. It was V D Savarkar who coined the term `Hindutva’ explicitly stating that this has nothing to do with the religious practices of Hinduism. `Hindutva’ is a political project. He gave the slogan “Hinduise all politics and militarise Hindudom”. Inspired by this, Dr B S Moonje, mentor to RSS founder Dr Hegdewar, traveled to Italy to meet the fascist dictator, Mussolini. The meeting took place on March 19, 1931. His personal diary notes of March 20 reveal his fascination and admiration of the manner in which Italian fascism was training its youth (read storm-troopers) militarily. Upon return to India, Dr Moonje established the Central Hindu Military Education Society at Nasik in 1935, the precursor to the Bhonsala Military School established in 1937. Investigations have put this Military School on the terror radar some years ago. The RSS guru, Golwalkar, in 1939, exalts Hitler’s purging of the Jews under Nazi fascism saying that it is “a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by”. Much later, he says “Generally speaking, it is a matter of common experience that evil forces (read non-Hindus) do not understand the language of logic and sweet nature. They can be controlled by force”. The RSS, forever, continues to deny any links with such people when they are caught or their terror activities exposed. For instance, the RSS always claimed that Nathuram Godse was not with the RSS when he shot dead Mahatma Gandhi – a claim strongly contested by Nathuram’s brother. Here is what Nathuram’s brother Gopal Godse had to say in a media interview, “All the brothers were in the RSS. Nathuram, Dattatreya, myself and Govind. You can say we grew up in the RSS rather than in our home. It was like a family to us. Nathuram had become a baudhik karyavah (intellectual worker) in the RSS. He has said in his statement that he left the RSS. He said it because Golwalkar and the RSS were in a lot of trouble after the murder of Gandhi. But he did not leave the RSS.” (Frontline, January 28, 1994). The point, here, is not the technicality of somebody not being a current member and, therefore, the `fringe’. The point is the venomous ideological indoctrination that the RSS and its affiliates undertake which nurtures and promotes such violent hatred. Recently, a cover story (The Caravan) on Aseemanand, one of the protagonists of the alleged Hindutva terror network, arrested as the main accused in the Samjautha Express train blast (February 2007), Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blasts (May 2007) and at the Ajmer Dargah blasts (October 2007), also named in two other terrorist attacks in Malegaon, Maharashtra (September 2006, 2008) says, “his terrorist attacks were sanctioned at the highest levels of the RSS – all the way up to Mohan Bhagawat, the current chief of the RSS, who was the organisation's general secretary at that time”. The latter, in turn, is alleged to have told Aseemanand that, “it is very important that it be done. But you should not link it with the Sangh”. This expose goes on to detail that Aseemanand's accomplice, RSS’s Sunil Joshi, “who was allegedly the connecting thread between several different parts of the conspiracy – including those who assembled and those who planted the bombs – was killed in mysterious circumstances in December 2007”. Such are the facts. In the meantime, PM Modi is busy traveling abroad, event managing NRI gatherings, or hosting foreign Heads of States in India and planning future travels. This Modi government is pushing India from one event to another. The promise of providing ` “minimum government, maximum governance” has literally been thrown to the winds. The patronage being provided to the politics of communal hate has virtually erased the distinction between the government and the “mob”. That this government patronises such divisive politics becomes evident with the government refusing to act against the perpetrators. Since he became the PM, Modi was faced with a demand in the parliament, reflecting people’s opinion, that action should be taken against ministers of his own cabinet and elected BJP MPs who are indulging in `hate speeches’ and activities tantamount to the violation of the `oath’ of our Constitution. PM Modi was asked to at least give an assurance on this score. Till date, forget action, there is no such assurance. What else can this mean other than the erasing of the distinction between the government that is entrusted to uphold and act according to the law of the land, and the “mob”. We are told that PM Modi is yet again preparing to tour some other foreign countries – at least four more by November 25. This has put the convening of the winter session of parliament under a big question mark. Usually, the winter session begins on the third Monday of November, ie, 16, 2015. This is unlikely to happen unless, of course, the PM chooses to remain abroad as the parliament convenes. Or, is this part of the implementation of the `Gujarat model’? The Gujarat assembly, during CM Modi’s last five year term, met on an average 31 days each year. During the same period, the Lok Sabha sat for an average 66 days each year. The Left parties continue to demand that our Constitution be amended to ensure the mandatory sitting of both houses of parliament for at least a 100 days, every year. Notwithstanding his rhetoric in the public meetings, the PM’s parliamentary interventions are the bare minimum. According to the Gujarat social media watch, which studied the functioning of the Gujarat assembly, CM Modi spoke not more than thrice in an assembly session and “twice it was to read condolence motions”. Such is their record and `democratic practice’. Are we staring at the future of the Indian parliament? Senior ministers of PM Modi’s cabinet are displaying utter contempt at the growing protests of a cross section of enlightened Indian minds. The protests against this growing intolerance that began with eminent Sahitya Academy awardees returning their recognition has now snowballed to include littérateurs, poets, cinema personalities, historians, scientists and others. These eminent personalities have shown exemplary resolve by this extraordinary expression of protest in the defence of the unity of the Indian people and in celebrating of the syncretic civilisational ethos of our country. Such actions strengthen the resolve of all Indians who cherish the secular democratic foundations of our republic to defend our country and people’s unity. Not surprisingly, cabinet ministers attacked the Left parties for engineering these “politically motivated” protests. The Indian Left is honoured to have the likes of the RBI governor, Indian corporates like Narayan Murty, Kiran Majumdar Shaw, scientists Jayant Narlikar and Bhargava, historians like Romila Thapar, litterateurs like Krishna Sobti and hundreds of other people of eminence in their ranks. The finance minister, according to media reports, says: “Those returning awards are playing politics by other means. They are rabid anti-BJP elements”. He further says that this is happening because “space of the Left has reduced”. This is a dangerous fascistic tendency – undermining democracy by rejecting dissenting opinions through political labeling and bracketing. The finance minister clearly attempts to distract people’s attention away from the total mismanagement of our economy and the consequent heaping of misery on our people. The prices of dal are skyrocketing. The staple food of a vast majority of Indians – dal roti – is increasingly becoming beyond their reach. The peasant’s suicides continue unabated. Even the illusions of an industrial turnaround are fast vanishing. Unemployment is galloping. International agencies like Moodys are critical of this growing intolerance in India. Indeed, acche din… Undeterred by growing protests, the RSS has now announced a new campaign to `correct religious imbalance’. The latest census data, they claim, shows that the population growth of Muslim minorities is marginally higher than the rate of growth of Hindus. And, hence the propaganda `Hindus are in danger’. Even if the Hindu population remains stagnant, it will take more than a century for the Muslims to overtake demographically. However, if the Hindu population continues to grow at the current rate (as is most likely), there is just no way that any religious minority in India, can ever enlarge to become a majority. Yet, the RSS has announced a nationwide campaign to spread disharmony. It could well turn out to be reminiscent of the notorious `nasbandi’ (forcible population control) launched during the Emergency period when democratic rights and civil liberties were abrogated. This is the reality of this BJP government led by PM Modi. For the sake of safeguarding India, as we know of it today, it is imperative that the pursuit of this ideological project seeking to metamorphose India, must be politically defeated.