The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), in its 2022 annual report released on Saturday, has said that there is “growing religious fanaticism” in the country in the guise of “Constitution and religious freedom” and “elaborate plans by a particular community to enter the government machinery”.
The right-wing organization has called for “all-out efforts with organized strength” to “defeat this menace”.
Tabled at an RSS meeting in Ahmedabad, the annual report says: “The formidable form of growing religious fanaticism in the country has raised its head again in many places. The brutal murders of activists of Hindu organisations in Kerala, Karnataka are an example of this menace. Series of dastardly acts revealing communal hysteria, rallies, demonstrations, violation of social discipline, custom and conventions under the guise of the Constitution and religious freedom, inciting violence by instigating meagre causes, promoting illegal activities, etc. is increasing.”
The report, suggesting it to be a conspiracy with long-term goals, further adds: “There appear to be elaborate plans by a particular community to enter the government machinery. Behind all this, it seems that a deep conspiracy with a long-term goal is working. On the strength of numbers, preparations are being made to adopt any route to get their demands accepted.”
The report was released at the RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha(ABPS) baithak being held in Ahmedabad to take stock of the work done by the Sangh in the past one year, chart out the future course of action and discuss issues of national importance facing the nation, The Indian Express reported.
The annual report of RSS also speaks at length about religious conversions, an issue that’s gained much traction recently in Indian polity.
“There is continuous information about the planned conversion of Hindus in different parts of the country like Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh etc. This challenge has a long history, but, of late, different, newer ways of converting new groups are being adopted. It is true that the social and religious leadership and institutions of Hindu society have woken up to some extent and become active to check this trend. It seems necessary to make joint and coordinated efforts in this direction in a more planned manner,” the report says.
The Sangh’s report stresses that while on one hand Hindu society is “awakening” and “standing up with self-respect”, there are “inimical forces which do not tolerate this”.
The report adds that challenge of “increasing divisive elements” is also alarming warning about efforts to weaken society through “various fissiparous tendencies in Hindu society itself”. “As the Census year approaches, there are instances of inciting a group by propagating that ‘they are not Hindus’,” the RSS says, while condemning “conspiracies to make unwarranted allegations against Hindutva” and alleging a “malicious agenda” under “intellectual garb”.
The Sangh’s annual report also talks about the post-poll violence in West Bengal and the episode during the Punjab elections where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to wait for over 15 minutes on flyover due to protestors blocking the road.
“Competition is essential in the political field, but it should be in a healthy spirit, and should be within the purview of democracy; the race should facilitate ideological brainstorming, and strengthen the development of society… The most condemnable incident of stopping the convoy of the Honourable Prime Minister of the country in the name of farmers’ agitation on the main road while he was going for a scheduled program, was certainly a challenge for security; but at the same time, this heinous act has also raised questions about political decorum, the central-state relation, the sentiment towards constitutional posts, etc,” the report says.
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