Shakha: The seed of saffron family

      “RSS does nothing, but its ‘swayamsewak’ does everything,” an RSS volunteer said in a gossip during the distribution of ‘akshat’ to every household ahead of the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony of Ayodhya’s Ram Temple.

Photo - RSS website

         The volunteers (swayamsewaks), who were participating in this nation-wide distribution programme, were part of the RSS’s associate organisations, viz., Durga Raksha Vahini, Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. They were trained, what it is called in the organisation’s language—‘sanskarisation’, in the ‘shakha’ and camps organised by the RSS. 

        ‘Shakha’ is the smallest and initial unit of the RSS, where a man’s personality is shaped for the nation building in a collective environment, as its volunteers believe in a ‘mantra’ of ‘vyakti nirman se rashtra nirman’ because they get an opportunity to lead, organise and manage small events and programmes that is a practical lesson of event management.

        As it is explained in the book ‘The Brotherhood in Saffron’ that the ‘shakhas’ offer unifying experience for the participants, providing them with a similarity in speech and outlook. It was also observed by the writer Walter Anderson and his team during survey that members of all castes are welcomed into the RSS and are treated as equals if they conform to behavioural standards considered proper by RSS leaders. 

        This unique feature makes the RSS still alive since 1925 when it was founded, even after the organisation faced two bans—the first in 1948 when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, and the second in 1975-1977 when the national emergency was declared. 

        When the ban was lifted, it was found that the RSS emerged more popular and stronger than as it was before its bans. It was the time in 1977 when the 21-month period of emergency ended, the opposition political parties under the umbrella of the Janata Party, fought together against the Congress and appeared as winner in the general election. A new non-Congress government was formed under the leadership of Morarji Desai. 

       The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was the part of the Janata Party government. Jana Sangh leaders were included in the national cabinet and served as chief ministers in several states. Never before had the RSS worked so closely with such a broad range of groups, many of which demanded restrictions on its activities. 

        In a span of 3 years, the Janata Party lost the elections in 1980. The Congress again came to the power. The Janata coalition split and its leaders demanded to prohibit elected Jana Sangh officials from participating in the RSS. By this political happenings, the Bharatiya Janata Party was formed in 1980, that allowed its leaders to participate in the RSS and also ‘pracharaks’ to give their contributions to the party to broaden its base. 

         These ‘pracharaks’ are no one but full-time members who are trained by the RSS through a well-designed camps called ‘prathamik’, ‘pratham varsh’, ‘dwitiya varsh’ and ‘tritiya varsh’ referring to the trainings at various stages. They serve several distinctive posts of the organisation and the government formed by the BJP in the centre and states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav, Defence and Home Minster Rajnath Singh and Amit Singh are some frequent names among them. 

        What the above milestone the BJP and the Sangh achieved in only 40 years became possible only by the same training, the same ‘sanskar’, and the same ideology propagated by RSS thinkers and senior ‘pracharaks’ in the ‘shakha’, the initial and smallest unit of the Sangh, enriched by several teachings offered to ‘swayamsewaks’. 

        ‘Swayamsewaks’ here go through the same process—standing in queues before the saffron flag to pray, exercise and take ‘mantra’ for the society well-being—that gives them an aura of doing something better with a teaching of the ‘unification’ of Hindus. 

         Its leaders believe that one day, a ‘seed’ following the many-year process of ‘sanskarisation’ blossoms in a same way as a former left-leaning JNU student leader and currently Congress member, who has also fought an election in Bihar on a CPI ticket, satirically said to me that today the RSS has reached there where the government is unable to provide even electricity.