German Ambassador Walter J Lindner’s meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat at the organisation’s headquarters in Nagpur this week has stoked a controversy on social media, but for the Sangh the visit is part of a now-established outreach protocol between them and the diplomatic corps.
According to Sangh functionaries, the practice of interactions between diplomats and the Sangh took off in a formal setting in 2009; when an ambassador of a European nation invited 27 other ambassadors of the European Union to a meeting with Bhagwat.
“The meeting was supposed to be for an hour, but it lasted for over three hours as all the diplomats posed question after question to Bhagwatji. This was a first-of-its-kind opportunity to get to first hand overview of the Sangh and its ideology,” said a senior functionary privy to the meeting.
The luncheon paved the way for expanding the interaction between the Sangh and the diplomats that started in 1994 — ahead of the 1996 Lok Sabha polls when Bharatiya Janata Party Atal Bihari Vajpayee elected as Prime Minister.
“There was some curiosity about the Sangh [in 1994]; some diplomats expressed a desire to visit Nagpur...,” said a second functionary.
{{/usCountry}}“There was some curiosity about the Sangh [in 1994]; some diplomats expressed a desire to visit Nagpur...,” said a second functionary.
{{/usCountry}}What began as small groups of mid-run diplomats visiting Nagpur in batches and individually interacting with Sangh functionaries and their families graduated to a more organised exchange at frequent intervals.
For instance, the then deputy High Commissioner and Minister Counselor of Singapore, Johathan Tow, was present for the Vijayadashami speech in Nagpur in 2012. In August 2016, the president of the Central Tibetan Administration, Dr Lobsang Sangay, met Bhagwat. The two, according to media reports, discussed key issues relating to environment and political situation in Tibet. In 2018, Kieran Drake, Minister-counselor at the British High Commission also called on Bhagwat, which was later described as a courtesy call.
At another engagement with the diplomats of over 40 countries over a breakfast meeting organised by the think tank India Foundation in 2017, Bhagwat is learnt to have told the attendees that the RSS does not control the government.
The seeds for such interactions were sown in 2007 when the Vishesh Sampark cell (a special outreach unit) of the Sangh was given the mandate to engage with thinkers, industry leaders, writers, film and sports personalities, politicians and bureaucratse to familiarize them with the Sangh ideology and build connections.
“As part of that programme, in 2009 Bhagwat ji also met a bunch of young parliamentarians from parties such as the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Party, NCP and the TDP at a lunch meeting organised at the residence of a BJP MP,” said the first functionary.
Ram Madhav, who was then in charge of the Vishesh Sampark Cell and is now a national general secretary in the BJP, said engagement and outreach is a regular feature of the Sangh’s work.
“Outreach and engagement with different sections of society has become a regular feature of the Sangh’s work since 2007 when the VIshesh Sampark Cell was started, and the RSS chief continues to meet people of different ideologies,” he said.
On the controversy that followed Ambassador Lindner’s tweet, the Sangh remains unfazed. The tweet read: “Visit of Headquarters of RSS in Nagpur and long meeting with its Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat. Founded 1925, it is world’s largest voluntary organization - though not uncontroversially perceived throughout its history...”
The German Embassy did not respond to queries about the Ambassador’s purpose for the visit. Reacting to the brouhaha over the visit, joint general secretary of the Sangh, Manmohan Vaidya, dismissed the claims. “There is a so-called ‘liberal, intellectual tribe’ that is highly illiberal, intolerant and not open to exchange of ideas. These people have tried to ostracise the Sangh by spreading lies about Sangh...,” Vaidya told HT.
A diplomat, who spoke to HT requesting anonymity and has interacted with the Sangh brass, said, “They are a social organisation, but they clearly have a role in the political landscape.”
Ajay Gudavarthy , a professor of political science at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, said, “The RSS projects itself as a cultural organisation...but they are deeply invested in the policy framework. It’s not just the diplomatic corps they are involved with, they run the show behind the scenes in government...”