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And Not Even a Dog Barked

June 25, 1975. The midnight knock. Democracy throttled. Mass arrests. Repression. The media
gagged. So why is RSS chief KS Sudarshan praising Indira Gandhi?

By Prabhash Joshi

June 25 marks the 30th anniversary of the Emergency since its imposition by
Indira Gandhi in 1975. And it‟s a tragedy that the BJP is the only political force
left which is still interested in reminding the nation of the Emergency.

They were a minor force then. Led by Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), the real forces
of resistance were the socialists, followed by the Lok Dal, the CPM, Congress
(O), and then, in that order, the Jana Sangh (now BJP). The Jana Sangh was Prabhash
not a political force at that time. All they could provide was infrastructure Joshi
because the RSS had decided to back JP. But there was always a lurking sense
of suspicion, a distance, a discreet lack of trust.

The RSS and Jana Sangh were keen to participate and make their position acceptable in
mainstream politics. JP told them, open your doors, let the Muslims enter. The RSS kept this in
abeyance and ultimately did not accept it. The fact is that the BJP celebrates the Emergency
because the Emergency opened the doors for them to enter the mainstream. And the truth is that
Balasaheb Deoras, then RSS chief, wrote a letter to Indira Gandhi pledging to help implement the
notorious 20-point programme of Sanjay Gandhi. This is the real character of the RSS.

Whenever there is a ban on the RSS, it has always tried to save its skin instead of facing the
government‟s wrath and go for a compromise. When the British in 1942 passed an order that no
voluntary organisation will be allowed to do semi-military activities, the RSS happily accepted it.
Guru Golwalkar, then sarsanghchalak (RSS chief), demolished the military department of the
RSS and the status quo remains till this day. The RSS or the Sangh Parivar never participated in
the freedom movement. They did not join the Quit India movement. After Mahatma Gandhi‟s
assassination, Sardar Patel banned it. Golwalkar immediately compromised: we will do
„constructive work‟, he said. In 1975, Mrs Gandhi banned the RSS, despite Deoras.
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You can decipher a line of action, a pattern. Even during the

The Emergency
Emergency, many among the RSS and Jana Sangh who came out of
marked two
the jails, gave mafinamas (apologies). They were the first to apologise.
things: the death of
Only their leaders remained in jail: Atal Behari Vajpayee, LK Advani,
ideology
even Arun Jaitley. But the RSS did not fight the Emergency. So why is
and the gradual
the BJP trying to appropriate that memory?
destruction of
the basic
JP was disappointed that nothing was happening in terms of political
parameters of
movement or resistance when the Emergency was imposed. Do you
Indian
remember his famous statement? “Ganga will be on fire and the people
politics grounded
will not tolerate it!” But that did not happen. Fighting a real, anti-
by the
establishment struggle is not in the RSS character. They are not a
values of the
fighting force and they are never keen to fight. They are basically a
freedom
compromising lot. They are never genuinely against the government,
movement when
and this happened during the Emergency as well. Their cadre did not
socialism was
revolt. The Emergency went unchallenged. That is why, Mrs Gandhi
a dream. 1977
said, “When I imposed the Emergency, not even a dog barked.”
marked a
watershed because
Despite this, JP understood the inner political dynamic. 1977 marked a after that it
watershed because this was the first time, in silence or otherwise, that was all about
there was a strong public opinion polarised against the Congress all pursuit of
over India. From 1947 to 1977, it was Congress domination in Indian power. Nothing else
politics. After 1977, the disintegration of the Congress began. It lost its
sustainable strongholds and large sections of the Indian society went
against it. This process was decisively unleashed after 1989: the Mandal-Kamandal politics.

Who were the main actors during the Emergency? The socialists, young and old. They fought it,
went to jail, faced torture. George Fernandes was a protagonist of rebellion: the dynamite case is
a clear example. JP clearly said that this struggle is like revisiting the 1942 movement: when the
freedom struggle‟s leaders were arrested, the people of India rose in revolt; in dozen places
people even established their own government. The socialists fought the Emergency, the RSS
did not.

The saddest post-Emergency development is the decline of the socialist forces. George
Fernandes is a pathetic figure today. These days when he gives interviews he never faces the
camera. He talks as if he can‟t survive without the BJP. He is trapped in his own politics; he can‟t
survive without the BJP. Since 1989, Mandal and caste politics have been crucial in the Hindi
heartland, especially in Bihar. If George has to stay afloat he has to take the help of Laloo Yadav
or Nitish Kumar. Laloo left him long ago. And Nitish knows that George can‟t be elected without
his support-base, Kurmis, etc. That is why George wants to balance this dilemma by keeping a
close liaison with the BJP, which keeps him floating.

Sharad Yadav used to be the socialist blue-eyed boy during the Emergency. He was the first
Janata candidate elected from Jabalpur in 1974 from a non-caste, non-sectarian platform. Now,
he too is a BJP ally.

So how did the BJP grow? After the Janata disintegration post-Emergency, Indira Gandhi fought
the 1980 elections on the slogan: Vote those who can rule. Garibi-Hatao and socialism were
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dumped. We must realise that till now all elections were ideologically oriented. For the first time
she fought with such a brazen stance: to get power, at any cost. Now, all kind of politics was only
for political power. This was the end of ideology.

In 1971, Mrs Gandhi fought on the garibi-hatao plank. Earlier,

30 YEARS
Nehru always fought on ideological issues. There was always a
AFTER
socialist current in their political positions. In 1977, there was
EMERGENCY
the alternate dream to the Congress dream. Ironically, both
dreams were demolished.

That is why 1977 marked a watershed in post-Independence

India. Ideology became extinct. Pursuit of power became the
only goal. Mrs Gandhi used the Hindus in Jammu against the
Muslims in the Valley to win the elections. She used the Akalis
versus extremists clash to hold on to Punjab. Bhindranwale was
her creation. She became a victim of her own politics.

After her death in 1984, Rajiv Gandhi won by a huge vote. The
RSS helped him; or else the nation would break, they said.
Rajiv followed his mother‟s politics. The Shah Bano case and
the opening of the Babri Masjid locks totally exposed him.
Total Revolution: JP

That is why, 1980 to 1990 was the decade of competitive

Even during the
Emergency,
many among the RSS and
Jana Sangh who came out
of jail gave ‘mafinamas’.
They were the first to
apologise. Only their
leaders remained in jail:
Atal Behari Vajpayee, LK
Advani. The RSS did not
fight the Emergency. So
why is the BJP trying to
appropriate that memory?
communalism — one kind of communalism pitched against
another. The BJP gained in this experiment because they were
the original communal party. Hence, from two mps in
Parliament in 1984, they rose to 84 in 1989 and peaked to 182;
but then, the Kamandal became outdated in 2004.
The Emergency marked two things: the death of ideology and
the gradual destruction of the basic parameters of Indian politics
which was grounded by the values of the freedom movement
when socialism was a dream. Swami Vivekananda said, “You
should serve the daridranarayan.” God was manifested in the
poor. The South African experiment of Gandhi happened in
1906. Hind Swaraj was written in 1909. He said, “The last man
should be the first man,” adapting from Emerson. The Russian
revolution occurred in 1917, but pro-poor ideas were founded in
India much before the freedom movement. 1977 shattered all
that.

After that, reactionary forces took over, including Kamandal and Mandal. Narasimha Rao initiated
the capitalist reforms. The socialist dream of the freedom struggle was thrown out. This changed
the face of Indian politics. Idealism was finally killed in mainstream politics. That was the decisive
contribution of the Emergency.

As for RSS chief KS Sudarshan praising Indira Gandhi last week, it is predictable. Sudarshan
praised her for „winning‟ the 1971 war because Mrs Gandhi split Pakistan — for them that is more
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important than anything else she did. The RSS has always appreciated firm regimes, that is why
they appreciated Emergency. They liked it that Mrs Gandhi had the will to go against popular
sentiments and the RSS was never popular in India, it could never become a mass movement.
She is their heroine (Durga etc,) because she broke Pakistan into two.

Come to think of it, their Hindu nationalism is equivalent to Muslim nationalism, they feed on each
other to increase their bargaining stakes: both helped the British when the Congress and others
were fighting against imperialist forces. Savarkar pleaded to toe the British line. Jinnah in 1946
called for „Direct Action‟. Both were basically making deals with the British. Indeed, the Ram
Janmabhoomi movement was a ploy for „deal-making‟ with the establishment, and finally
becoming the establishment. That is why they call it the „freedom movement of the Hindus‟.

They say this because demolishing the symbols of Mughals/Muslims was more important for
them than to fight the British empire. The RSS is not against the Two-Nation theory, despite the
Akhand Bharat slogan. For them, Muslims were always the Internal Enemy Number One, not the
British. For them, we were under ghulami (slavery) of Muslim/Mughal rule for a thousand years.
Hence, they did not join the freedom movement or fight the British. They can never fight the ruling
establishment. For them, survival/compromise is the principle of their existence.

Hence the praise for Mrs Gandhi and the vehement criticism of Nehru, even Gandhi. This is
because Nehru founded the Republic of India on liberal, democratic, secular, pluralistic, socialist
principles. And the RSS abhors these values.

For you and me, the fight against the Emergency is a fight for the people‟s right to freedom and
fundamental rights. Not for them. For you and me, Emergency symbolises the struggle against an
authoritarian regime, for civil rights of a democratic civil society. For them it does not matter. This
is the basic difference. The truth is the RSS does not believe in democracy.

The writer is former editor, Jansatta.

As told to Amit Sengupta

July 02, 2005