RSS sarsanghchalak (supremo) Mohan Bhagwat’s periodic attempts to portray the RSS ideology – and its brand of fanatic Hindutva – as mellow, tolerant, and inclusive are becoming more and more pathetic and meaningless. Nobody believes these sermons, not even their own khaki clad cadres. The most recent instance of Bhagwat’s reflections was in New York, USA, where he declared, “If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat (India), he will not remain Hindu.”

The US affiliates of RSS had organised a public meeting pompously styled as ‘Universal Oneness Celebration’ where representatives from various faiths were invited, although some later claimed that they were not told that Bhagwat was the guest of honour, and they would not have attended had they known. Bhagwat addressed the gathering, pretending to emulate Swami Vivekananda’s 1893 address to the World Parliament Religions in Chicago, vainly hoping that some of the glory might rub off on him.

Last year, speaking in connection with the RSS centenary celebrations in New Delhi on August 28, Bhagwat had said, “Those who think Islam will not remain are not guided by Hindu thought. Hindu philosophy does not think this way. Only when there is trust on both sides will this conflict end. First, we must accept that we are all one." 

These and similar words by Bhagwat in recent times are driven by a bunch of reasons that we will go into later. Before that, it is important to note that on many occasions, Bhagwat has been more explicit in laying down conditions for Muslims and Christians.

ROOTS OF ANTI-MUSLIM POISON

“If Muslims and Christians, even without giving up their worship, customs and traditions, worship this country, follow Indian culture, and take pride in Indian ancestors, then they are Hindus..." he said in Guwahati on November 18, 2025.

A couple of years earlier, he was even more forthright.

"Islam has nothing to fear. But at the same time, Muslims must abandon their boisterous rhetoric of supremacy. We are of an exalted race; we once ruled over this land, and shall rule it again; only our path is right, rest everyone's is wrong; we are different, therefore we will continue to be so; 'we cannot live together' -- they must abandon this narrative. In fact, all those who live here -- whether a Hindu or a Communist -- must give up this logic," Bhagwat said on January 10, 2023, speaking to RSS publications.

Asked about Hindu aggression, he said in the same interview, “You see, Hindu society has been at war for over 1,000 years – this fight has been going on against foreign aggressions, foreign influences and foreign conspiracies. … It is but natural for those at war to be aggressive.”

And, so it goes. What Bhagwat is actually saying in more circumspect language was pronounced by MS Golwalkar, the second sarsanghchalak of RSS and its most influential ideologue, way back in 1939 in his key book ‘We, Or Our Nationhood Defined”. After praising Germany for purging the Jews, Golwalkar writes, “From this stand point, sanctioned by the experience of shrewd old nations, the foreign races in Hindusthan must either adopt the Hindu culture and language, must learn to respect and hold in reverence Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but those of the glorification of the Hindu race and culture, i.e., of the Hindu nation and must lose their separate existence to merge in the Hindu race, or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment not even citizen’s rights.” 

Seen in this context, Bhagwat’s sermons to Muslims become crystal clear. He is using palatable language – and also trying to hoodwink the more credulous people – but the roots of these sentiments are deeply entrenched in the poisonous well-spring created by Guruji and cherished by the RSS for decades. For those who think that perhaps some rethinking has taken place, some ‘repositioning’ is being done, it will be salutary to recall how Muslims in particular, and minorities in general have been treated under the Modi regime.

ATTACKS ON MINORITIES

It is difficult to fully describe in the limited space available, the myriad ways in which Muslims (and Christians too) have been marginalised, terrorised and rendered powerless under the past 12 years. Both legal and extra-legal tactics have been used to do so. Various schemes meant to benefit the economically more deprived Muslim community have been scrapped or restricted. Their political representation at various levels has steeply declined, with the ruling BJP having only one Muslim Member of Parliament, and only a handful among hundreds of members of state assemblies. There is a law in force now which discriminates against Muslims from neighbouring countries seeking citizenship of India. Revision of electoral rolls has been weaponised to question citizenship. In the name of identifying illegal immigrants, Muslims have been hounded out in many places. Muslims face police actions for a range of actions from criticising the government to supporting Palestine. Hundreds of Muslims are facing tough legal cases or remain in jails on cooked up cases. Many more Muslims accused of crimes have been killed in fake police encounters. Laws passed against conversion in 13 BJP ruled states are being used to harass and prosecute Muslims and Christians. Four states have passed so-called Uniform Civil Codes that seek to suppress Muslim personal law. In dozens of cases, police has illegally demolished houses of Muslims accused of diverse crimes. In some cases, community fines have been imposed. Many of the accused in previous cases of egregious communal violence, like the Bilkis Bano case of Gujarat, are sought to be released from prison under dodgy rules. Most cases of communal violence continue to languish indeterminately. Cases of bomb blasts carried out by Hindutva groups have failed as witnesses have turned. All this has emboldened fanatic Hindutva elements to continue violence against minorities. 

Accompanying the above-mentioned legal methods, is open violence against Muslims and Christians that has spiralled unconscionably. Innumerable places of worship or religious gatherings have been attacked, sacred material destroyed and false cases lodged. False accusations of eating or transporting beef, conversion, kidnapping or trafficking of women etc., have been used to terrorise or attack the communities. Horrific cases of mob lynching, mainly of Muslim and some Dalit men have shot up since 2014. Estimates vary from 189 to 279 such cases. Provocation through insulting songs, especially during festivals, has become a usual happening across most parts of the country. Any reaction to such provocation leads to communal violence and administrative action, which leaves the minority community further damaged.

This brief account, the details of which can be found across earlier issues of People’s Democracy, is meant to show that Bhagwat’s words about ‘oneness’ and ‘inclusiveness’ and respect for all religions is all hogwash. In reality, Guruji’s principles are being implemented in letter and spirit by the frontal organisations of RSS that now permeate society, with impunity provided by those in power. Those who think Bhagwat’s words are a repositioning need to look at all this.

WHAT’S BEHIND BHAGWAT’S STATEMENTS?

There is a simple reason for Bhagwat’s pretense that the RSS (and Hindutva) respects other religions, particularly Islam, and strives for inclusiveness and unity of all humanity. It is the increasing importance of winning over those who are critical of RSS and its front, the BJP. This includes both, people within India as well as residents of foreign countries, whether of Indian origin or not. Why is becoming important to win over these sections? It is because the BJP, and its mentor RSS, are under siege in India. The staggering failures of the Modi government on the economic front, from failure to control rising prices to ravaging joblessness, rising debt, low incomes, gross economic mismanagement, shameless bias towards the super-rich and surrender to US economic arm twisting have led to growing discontent, especially among youth. The recent youth protests against the corrupt examination system, and after that, the joint protests by farmers organisations and trade unions against hostile policies, are indications of this growing disillusionment with Modi’s rule. Despite electoral successes, the RSS/BJP knows how anger and discontent can rapidly snowball and unseat powerfully entrenched forces. Thus, measures are needed to win over sections of secular people that are opposed to the BJP’s communal politics. Similarly, in the international arena, there is growing realisation that the Modi government is sliding into ‘electoral autocracy’ and displaying all the signs of ultra-right dispensations the world over – curbs on democracy, anti-immigration stance, restrictions on media, and Islamophobia. This disenchantment with Modi is taking place within the Indian diaspora too, as was evidenced in the protests against Bhagwat’s public events in US and UK.

These attempts by Bhagwat and the RSS to become acceptable in their centenary year are however doomed. Event management and lies can work only for some time, not forever. And, the benefits RSS gained from its very own pracharak becoming the Prime Minister of India, have now reached their limit – from now on, it is going to be downhill for Bhagwat and his khaki army. Sweet words cannot be a balm for the pain caused by RSS/BJP.