HINDUTVA - Indian Social Institute

defended the sale of the magazines. “There is nothing wrong in selling and offering annual subscription of
RSS magazines. Several councillors had complained that they did not get a copy of both magazines. So
the arrangement was made to deliver them to their houses easily,” said Nagpal. (Deccan Herald 13/7/12)
Caste equations seem to have pushed BJP ideology to the background (26)
Bangalore: When Ministers in the State’s new Cabinet took oath here on Thursday, promising to uphold
Constitutional values, it sounded rather hollow, considering the drama of caste one-upmanship and
muscle-flexing that preceded it. Caste has always played a role in Karnataka’s politics. However, never
has the play of caste been so blatant as during the BJP rule when caste impacted even the party’s stated
Hindutva ideology. The situation in which the BJP finds itself today reflects the inherent contradiction
between the Hindutva ideology, which requires the construction of a monolithic religious identity, and the
politics of caste that is by definition divisive. Though the BJP rule has occasionally attempted to shore up
the Hindutva agenda — such as the drafting of school syllabus on ideological lines and organising Hindu
Samajotsavas throughout the State — there are endless instances of the caste imperative over-riding this
agenda. Operation Kamala (where Opposition party legislators were lured into resigning their seats in
return for electoral support and ministerial positions under the BJP) attracted a number of Lingayat MLAs,
not necessarily of a Hindutva persuasion, who were offered Ministerial positions. Successive budgets saw
allocations made to religious maths on the basis of caste rather than any pan-Hindu revivalism plank. The
last four years of the BJP rule has seen an unprecedented number of caste and sub-caste conventions.
While it can be argued that these were attempts to bring castes into the larger Hindutva agenda, they
invariably meant highlighting differences in the so-called Hindu identity. In a striking reflection of this
brand of politics, several Lingayat religious leaders expressed outrage when B.S. Yeddyurappa was
asked to quit as Chief Minister. A corollary of this was played out more recently when D.V. Sadananda
Gowda was asked to step down, with Vokkaligas religious heads crying foul. The Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fountainhead for the BJP, seems to be unable to grapple
with or tame the multiple caste agendas overshadowing the Hindutva agenda. In January, the RSS had
convened a meeting of state party leaders in an effort to mediate the issue of leadership. It had reportedly
chided leaders for indulging in bickering at the cost of the party’s image, which has clearly had no impact.
The former MLC and a senior RSS leader K. Narahari told The Hindu that the political situation was “not
satisfactory”, but refused to comment any further. M.C. Jayadev, another prominent RSS leader, said that
caste-based politics was “unfortunate”. However, he defended the developments as “inevitable” at this
juncture in the State’s politics. “In the interests of larger society, these developments are not good,” he
said. He denied any role of the RSS in Thursday’s change of leadership. Urimajalu Ram Bhat, a Hindutva
ideologue based in Puttur, expressed angst. “These developments are a big blow to the (party) ideology.”
He said that Mr. Yeddyurappa was responsible for breaking the notion of Hindutva along caste lines. He
regretted that the RSS was “watching it all silently”. Interestingly, even as the three top posts in the new
Cabinet were carefully filled with a Lingayat Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers from Vokkaliga
and Kuruba communities on Thursday, MLAs from coastal Karnataka, a strong Hindutva ideological base,
have threatened to quit over poor representation for the region. This is a clear reflection of caste and
regional considerations triumphing over any larger Hindutva ideology. (The Hindu 13/7/12)
Hindu Aikya Vedi hails unity move (26)
PATHANAMTHITTA: The initiatives taken by the leaders of the Nair Service Society (NSS) and the Sree
Narayana Dharma Paripalayana Yogam (SNDP) for a Hindu unity would strengthen the Hindu eformation
movement, said Kummanam Rajashekharan, Hindu Aikya Vedi State general secretary. In a statement
issued here on Monday, Mr. Rajashekharan said Hindu unity, communal amity and social reformation
were the declared aims of both the NSS and the SNDP. He said the NSS-SNDP unity would, of course,
be a great solace to the Hindu community as a whole in the backdrop of the prevailing socio-political
scenario in the State. Mr. Rajsehkharan said differences of opinion should never lead to animosity