Disaster Relief And The RSS: A book review

Few months back I got my hands on the book “Disaster Relief and The RSS: Resurrecting ‘Religion’ Through Humanitarianism.” The book was recommended by a full-timer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, aptly referred to as a pracharak — the one who propagates sangh-karya, i.e. the work of the RSS. The book is written by Malini Bhattacharjee, an Assistant Professor at Azim Premji University in Bengaluru who previously earned her doctorate in political science from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi.

This blog is written as an orthogonal piece for the article titled “Serving during the time of the Crisis”, by Vikas Deshpande.

My introduction to the RSS happened back in 2009, when I was living in the US. Since then I have had several responsibilities in the organization. Thus, I will claim to have some insight into the RSS, its vision, mission, core values, philosophy, priorities and operations. Most of what is out on the Internet about the RSS — critical, laudatory or just plainly insane — does not paint a true and unbiased picture of the organization. I will leave it to readers to figure that out. At the bottom of this blog I have added a list recommended reading to get some actual insight into the RSS.

Kudos to the author for putting on a different lens, so to speak, to gain insights into the RSS and present them in this well-compiled book.

The book reads well. I was diligent enough to take notes. Even before starting the book, I had decided to write a review, irrespective of my agreement or disagreement with the author. Soon after, I had a great opportunity to attend an intimate meet-n-greet (video embedded below) with Ms. Bhattacharjee and hear her insights through a Q&A session, organized by swayamsevaks. Around twenty people had gathered for the session. The atmosphere was jovial, which is simply inherent to how RSS functions day-in-day-out. I asked few questions to Ms. Bhattacharjee, the manner of which, purposefully, was a bit sarcastic if not snidely :) Her balanced response and demeanor impressed me. Since then I have read few of her articles. Her support for the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 “won” her much of the unwarranted derision from the coterie of usual suspects also known as lutyens-mafia or khan-market gang. I would like to emphasize that the meetup with the author was highly insightful and absolutely delightful. I wish the author best for her future projects. I must also say that meeting Ms. Bhattacharjee face-to-face also refined my perception about her as well as her writing, thus understanding some nuances much better.

What is the book about?

As the title clearly says, the book provides an insight into the disaster relief efforts undertaken by the swayamsevaks of the RSS. It was perhaps the line of work for the author’s doctoral dissertation. The book focuses on the two ghastly episodes in India’s recent history — the Odisha cyclone in 1999 and the Gujarat earthquake in 2001. The author had herself visited both the states to get first hand information from the swayamsevaks involved in the relief efforts. Given the author is a student of political science, the overarching tone of the writing hints at the political capital earned by the RSS from the relief efforts. I must confess — I am mildly smirking after I wrote the previous sentence. However, having met the author, I know her heart is in the right place! The book is also a different take on the phenomenon — that is a primary pet peeve of many-a-intellectual-souls — which is … drumroll please … Hindutva!

How is the book organized?

In the words of the author the book has primarily three strands, i.e. sections/chapters. The first strands talks about disasters, it management, and the outlook of secular, religious and socio-cultural organizations in building the narrative, and mobilization of their cadre for relief efforts. The second strand examines the idea of Seva as differently espoused by variety of Hindu organizations, as per the then present context. The third stands focuses on (so-called) political mobilization of the RSS (and affiliated organizations) through the opportunities presented in Odisha cyclone in 1999 and Gujarat earthquake in 2001. In the third strand, the author provides details about the numerous instances of the laudable efforts by swayamsevaks, which involved putting life at risk without having been specifically trained for disaster management and relief.

Is the book worth reading?

Absolutely. It won’t be a stretch to say that most regular readers and observers of politics don’t see relief efforts from the perspective of gaining political ground. The book has a tonne of data points that a swayamsevak, a potential swayamsevak, an avowed RSS-hater or whichever label sails your boat could find interesting/useful/insightful. The price could be prohibitory for some. However, this is a scholarly work and not some saucy piece of fiction.

My impressions

• The writing is lucid and the quality is decent. Due to the nature of the topic, it cannot be termed a page-turner for an average reader.
• The first strand in the book provides a great insight into how narratives are built around the reasons behind disasters, e.g., a scientist will talk about “human-influenced tectonic fault-lines in Kedarnath valley (2013 floods)” while a religious leader will appropriate it as “god’s wrath to chastise immoral actions of humans.”
• As mentioned earlier, the book has a singular overtone that the RSS has a political agenda and they use disaster relief efforts in a covert manner only for political mobilization of their cadre to increase their strength in numbers, reconvert people back into the fold of Hinduism and ultimately realize its goal their Hindu-Rashtra. I wonder if a book is warranted to draw this conclusion. Many successful careers in politics and journalism have been made by expressing ones whims about the RSS.
• The word ‘compassion’ is mentioned only twice in the whole book, of which one instance was from my own notes (yes, I bought the Kindle edition). This is how I imagine the author possibly thinks — “Swayamsevaks brush their teeth only because bad breath might hinder shakha-vistaar (expansion of RSS) and bright shiny teeth attract potential new swayamsevaks. There is agenda for everything, otherwise swayamsevaks won’t do single thing an ordinary human being does in the natural course of life — like have compassion for someone in distress. There is simply nothing such as an inner voice or innate call for duty.”
• If you create a word cloud from the book, the words ‘covert’ and ‘agenda’ easily overshadow others. The word ‘samaj runa’ (debt to the society) finds mention only once. While the idea of ‘samaj runa’ and ‘compassion’ are close to the RSS and swayamsevaks’ hearts, ‘covertness’ and ‘agenda’ by no means dominate the mind-space of swayamsevaks. In the second strand, Ms. Bhattacharjee quotes Shyam ji Parande (veteran swayamsevak and international president of Sewa International) about four ‘runas’ (debts at birth) and how, for a Hindu, Seva is a response to the ‘samaj runa’. And yet, so convincingly, forgets it for remaining of the book only to incessantly harp on the covert agenda of RSS behind its Seva activities.
• Author says — “The space of humanitarianism is complex stage where a variety of actors contest with each other to further their own agenda”. Agenda Uchaa Rahe Hamara!! It is ironic how a scholarly piece of work also makes broad generalizations. Is that what the author seeks?
• The author has intentionally, however much the author would like to disagree, done a balancing act to cater to both sides, i.e. the exiting left-leaning intelligentsia as well as swayamsevaks and admirers of RSS. Given how the “establishment” ostracizes anybody who does not toe the line of their ideology and the fact that RSS appreciates critical analysis, especially done through field studies and face-to-face discussions, it makes sense for a budding author to perform a balancing act.
• For me as a swayamsevak, seeing RSS through the lens of ‘agenda’ and ‘covertness’ seems frivolous. Shakhas and milans (daily and weekly gathering) are conducted in broad daylight. RSS passes it yearly resolutions in the open by communicating via mainstream media. However, during the face-to-face gathering, Ms. Bhattacharjee helped me understand the nature and style of political writing. Also, as I said before, her heart is in the right place. More importantly, criticism is welcome and taken constructively in the RSS.

Summary

The author has made an honest attempt to evaluate the rise of the RSS and Hindutva utilizing relief work as an instrument. She seems unbiased towards or against RSS. Ms. Bhattacharjee does not come-off as a major intellectual-influencer for the urban audience, and perhaps she does not intend to be one. Since the words ‘agenda’ and ‘covert’ have negative connotations for ordinary readers (perhaps not for those from the domain of humanities), the author could do better in providing deeper insights into those words in the next update to the book.

P.S: During the meet-n-greet, Ms. Bhattacharjee talked about how her colleagues and friends at the JNU dissuaded her from visiting Gujarat, which is concocted as a violent place — the laboratory of Hindutva — whatever that means — in the “eclectic” circles of Delhi’s “intelligentsia.” Using her better judgement, she chose otherwise. She also narrated her positive experiences and that never for a moment she felt unsafe — on the contrary her entire stay was simply pleasurable. She also talked about the harshest of RSS’ critics admire its tenacity, resilience and humility, in private.

Bharat Mata Ki Jai

Recommended reading:

• Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar — a biography, by Shri Rakesh Sinha
• The RSS: Roadmaps for the 21st Century, by Shri Sunil Ambekar
• RSS: A Vision in Action, by Shri H.V. Seshadri
• Nationalist Pursuit, by Shri Dattopant Thengadi
• Hinduness and Hinduism X-rayed — an article (link), by Shri Ranga Hari
• Integral Humanism, by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay