Over the last 10 months, the BJP and its ideological arm, the RSS, have engaged with minority communities, including Muslims and Christians, as part of their outreach programmes, but in different ways. Despite having an ideological alignment, the minority outreach programs of these two organizations focus on specific social and political needs.
Senior RSS functionaries call it “a nationalist approach through different modes of expression” based on different political scenarios. Senior BJP leaders say a political party’s vision should be aligned with “common beliefs” and “local political equations”.
rss chief Mohan BhagwatSpeaking at an event in Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur in November, he said that all Indians have “the same DNA” and are culturally Hindu. Bhagwat and other senior officials have been meeting groups of Muslim intellectuals, while the organization holds discussions with Muslim professionals. However, the BJP conducts its outreach programs among specific minority groups such as the Pasmanda Muslims in Uttar Pradesh, the Syro-Malabar Christian community in Kerala, etc.
Speaking to News18, Pragya Pravah head of the RSS and a member of the central committee, J Nandakumar said: “The RSS has always been talking to everyone. May be we are getting more attention now than before or programs and speeches are getting more prominence because people are eager to know and understand. The approach of both RSS and BJP is aimed at national welfare and nation building. The expression may be different.”
outreach
ten days before kick-starting the crucial phase of karnataka election Campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Kerala on a two-day visit and met eight top spiritual leaders of churches in the state, including the head of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Cardinal George Alencherry and the head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Cardinal Baselios Clemis.
The PM met a delegation of Syro-Malabar Christian churches from Kerala, while the RSS has strong reservations for St Thomas and the Syro-Malabar Christian community, which believes in the St Thomas tradition.
Senior RSS functionaries believe that St. Thomas never visited and lived in Kerala, and that the narrative built around the life and death of St. Thomas in the southern part of India was politically motivated.
However, RSS functionaries acknowledge that the BJP needs to make inroads into the community in Kerala and that the outreach by the party is “political”.
The RSS thinks differently of the BJP’s Muslim outreach, which currently revolves around Pasmanda Muslims. “We never reached out to caste-specific communities. Our outreach programs are for everyone. But as issues emerge and as certain groups in a community try to start a conversation, we respond. The BJP’s outreach to the Pasmanda Muslims in Uttar Pradesh or the Syro-Malabar Christian community in Kerala is based on the current local-political scenario.”
“Pasmanda Muslims are generally persecuted, while the Syro-Malabar Christian community in Kerala is currently facing an unprecedented onslaught from fundamentalist forces in the state due to the political situation there. BJP as a political party is not reaching them. has reached and PM Modi has spoken to the community leaders.”
PM Modi has often been talking about the upliftment of the Pasmanda community. BJP recently nominated Tariq Mansoor as MLC. Mansoor belongs to the Pasmanda community and stepped down from the post of Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University after his nomination.
Meanwhile, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also released the first Urdu translation of the Samaveda, saying:One destination, many routes“(The destination of all Indians is one while the paths are different).
RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh (National Spokesperson) Sunil Ambekar said: “We have always been open to everyone, we respond to everyone with a positive attitude because we are all culturally and traditionally connected.”
social vs political
Former Chief Election Commissioner of India SY Qureshi explained the difference in approach towards minority outreach: “The BJP’s outreach to Muslims or Christians is very political because they expect immediate electoral gains from it. Pasmanda in Uttar Pradesh or Syro-Malabar Christians in Kerala are minority constituencies for him. They want bigger vote share and will do everything to win the election. But the outreach programs of the RSS are different in nature. These are more about making social connections, starting conversations.”
Qureshi was part of a five-member delegation of Muslim intellectuals who met Mohan Bhagwat on August 22 last year. Since then three such meetings have taken place between Muslim intellectuals and RSS functionaries. “Bhagwat ji has been consistent about giving broad instructions to the members of the Sangh. However, only time will tell about BJP’s reach in Pasmanda; Whether it is political or there is a positive thought behind it.”
Despite objections about the lack of historical evidence to prove the roots of the Syro-Malabar Christian communities in Kerala, RSS functionaries say the community is now under attack by “fundamental forces” in the state.
“Due to the prevailing political situation, the leaders of the Christian community are speaking against fundamentalist forces in the state. BJP is joining them and it is the need of the hour. A political party may have electoral interest, but in Kerala, the reach of the BJP is not only political but also a social change,” said a senior RSS functionary in Kerala.
Meanwhile, the RSS is increasing its ground contact in northeastern states including Nagaland and Manipur, which have a sizeable Christian population.
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