The Saffron Satrapies: Behind the RSS’s Shield of Culture

 * BVSee

 Better late than never, they say, but when the awakening is this belated, it carries the distinct odor of political theater. Weeks after the massive temple donation pilferage scam at the Ayodhya Rama Mandira blew wide open, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has suddenly discovered its moral compass. Dattatreya Hosabale, the second-in-command of the organization, recently issued a virtual 'firman' demanding strict legal action against those who looted the temple funds. The grand irony here is breathtaking. It is as if the Indian judicial system and the executive machinery were sitting on their hands, twiddling their thumbs, waiting for a green light from Nagpur to prosecute common thieves.

The reality is that the government was already on the job. Investigations into the pilferage were well underway before Hosabale felt the urge to grab a headline. This sudden prodding is not an act of civic duty; it is a calculated political statement. For an organization that fiercely clings to the label of a "cultural body," the RSS behaves increasingly like an unregistered political party.

Consider Hosabale’s other recent, baffling foray into statecraft: exhorting the Government of India to resume a dialogue with Pakistan. This comes amidst non-stop border strife and relentless, state-sponsored militancy. New Delhi’s long-standing, principled position has been crystal clear—terror and talks cannot coexist. Pakistan, whose economy is currently in a state of absolute collapse, desperately needs the legitimacy of a dialogue. India does not. By breaking ranks with national security consensus, the RSS has exposed its political ambitions, acting as a self-styled shadow cabinet rather than a cultural guide.

This selective morality is nothing new. The RSS proudly projects itself as the ultimate shield for Hindu interests. Yet, where was this righteous shield when hundreds of women were allegedly assaulted and killed over the years in Dharmasthala? The organization maintained a stony, complicit silence, precisely because speaking out would have rubbed the region's wealthy and entrenched power-brokers the wrong way. Hindu interests, it seems, are expendable when powerful toes are at risk of being stepped on.

The recent controversy stirred up by the Karnataka government regarding the legal status of the RSS has further stripped away its veneer of mystique. The RSS’s defense was weak and utterly unconvincing. Here is an outfit that freely commandeers vast public spaces for its drills, relies heavily on state security apparatuses, and collects colossal sums of public money under the guise of donations. Yet, it remains an unregistered body.

By conservative estimates, the RSS sits on an empire of highly priced, unaccounted real estate and financial assets across the country. It operates with the scale, precision, and ruthlessness of a massive commercial corporation, yet skips the accountability. If it looks like a commercial body and acts like a political outfit, it must submit its accounts and taxable details to the government like everyone else.

The RSS is not a holy cow, and it is certainly not above the law of the land. It is high time the organization discards its threadbare pretenses of being a mere "service organization." It must submit itself to the rule of law, pay its dues, and stop acting as though the laws of India stop at the gates of its shakhas.