06-01-2008, 01:00 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>RSS all the way </b>
Pioneer.com
Lookback: Arun Lakshman
The stunning victory of the BJP in Karnataka has established the saffron party as a firm player in the region. Though it is a fact that each State has its own political dynamics and the BJP makes for little in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, <b>it is equally true that the Karnataka miracle would psychologically impact the politics of the rest of the region</b>
On February 11, 2006, Thinkpad, the predecessor of Saturday Special had covered the prospects of a "saffron surge" south of the Vindhyas on the back of the formation of a BJP-inclusive Government in Karnataka. Two years and four months later this week, we are finally in a position to take the phenomenon for granted. The stunning victory of the BJP in the three-way Karnataka contest, has established the saffron party as a firm player in the region. Though it is a fact that each State has its own political dynamics and the BJP makes for little in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it is equally true that the Karnataka miracle would psychologically impact the politics of the rest of the region.
Tarun Vijay, for years the editor of the RSS mouthpiece, Panchajanya, (see Main Article) rhetorically recreates the ambience of pre-medieval Karnataka to stress his point that the arrival of the lotus was pre-destined. KN Govindacharya (The Other Voice), warns that the BJP-RSS bonhomie may not last once the BJP tastes power and is forced to compromise with the very forces that are at variance with its puritanical beliefs.
Years back, the then Lok Sabha MP from Vadakara, Kerala, KP Unnikrishnan, said at a Press conference: <b>"When a string is pulled from Nagpur, Advani comes up and when another string is pulled Vajpayee moves up and this is the BJP." </b>He was referring to the popular perception that held that Nagpur was the southern headquarters of the saffron brigade.
The context in which Unnikrishnan spoke was quite controversial. The Congress and the Muslim League had fielded a common candidate and the BJP supported him against Unnikrishnan, who was then a sitting MP for five terms as well as Communications Minster in the VP Singh Government. Unnikrishnan used the BJP's support to warn the Muslims not to back the opposition candidate, M Ratnasingh, who was an RSS man.
<b>The RSS-BJP linkage has become more relevant today after the Karnataka election when we see the BJP forming a Government in the State on its own, thanks to the sweat and toil of its dedicated cadre and leaders. It was leaders like Krishnappaji who was the Kshetriya Pracharak of the RSS and the former Akhil Bharateeya Sarkarayvahak, HV Sheshadri, who was also from the State, who were instrumental in giving the Hindutva movement a base in the State.</b>
<b>The hard work of these leaders became the building blocks of the Hindutva movement in the State and with issues like the Hubli Idgah coming up, it became clear to the people of the State that it was the RSS and its subsidiaries that transformed the quality of the State's politics. It was crystal clear that years of hard work put in by the RSS in building up the Hindutva ideology and the grassroot activities gave the BJP the booth-level sincere worker who is so essential for any party dreaming to combat the Congress. </b>
Their systematic, day-to-day work through the Sangh shakhas is the bedrock of the party on which it based its forward movement in the State. In many parts of Kerala that are adjacent to Karnataka, the BJP enjoys the advantage of contiguity. This is reflected in the good results posted by the BJP in the Manjeswar Assembly seat in Kasargod district, where it routinely finishes second to the Muslim League. Political analysts and special branch police officers have already gone on record that the Left parties shift their votes to the Muslim League once it becomes certain that the BJP is on the verge of victory in this constituency, thereby depriving the BJP of a chance to open its account in the State Assembly.
In Tamil Nadu, the BJP won three Lok Sabha seats in a bipolar political environment and the Nagercoil seat was won by the BJP leader Pon Radhakrishnan who later went on to become a Minister in the Vajpayee Government. Nagercoil, which is near Thiruvananthapuram, has a good Hindutva base, which was built by the hard and step by step organisational work of the RSS.
<b>It may be recalled that a long struggle carried out by the Hindutva forces under the leadership of the RSS in Kanyakumari, which is near Nagercoil, to protect the existence of the Kanyakumari temple against the intrusion by a section of Christian missionaries who wanted the place to be named after Mother Mary.</b>
The RSS' struggle yielded favourable results and the Kanyakumari temple was prevented from becoming a Christian shrine. These facts make it clear that the organisational and cultural activities carried out by the dedicated cadre of the Sangh, has resulted in the growth of the BJP. In other words, the whole organisational system of the BJP revolves around the RSS.
In Kerala, it is only the BJP leaders with a RSS background who have grassroot support, whereas the others don't get this kind of support as the RSS cadre don't consider them part of the movement. The RSS shakhas act as a major source of the day-to-day contact among the cadre, making the organisation easier to implement its decisions. Also, the RSS has several programmes round the year which results in the cadre functioning like a well-oiled machine for the welfare of the country.
-- The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer, Kochi
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Pioneer.com
Lookback: Arun Lakshman
The stunning victory of the BJP in Karnataka has established the saffron party as a firm player in the region. Though it is a fact that each State has its own political dynamics and the BJP makes for little in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, <b>it is equally true that the Karnataka miracle would psychologically impact the politics of the rest of the region</b>
On February 11, 2006, Thinkpad, the predecessor of Saturday Special had covered the prospects of a "saffron surge" south of the Vindhyas on the back of the formation of a BJP-inclusive Government in Karnataka. Two years and four months later this week, we are finally in a position to take the phenomenon for granted. The stunning victory of the BJP in the three-way Karnataka contest, has established the saffron party as a firm player in the region. Though it is a fact that each State has its own political dynamics and the BJP makes for little in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it is equally true that the Karnataka miracle would psychologically impact the politics of the rest of the region.
Tarun Vijay, for years the editor of the RSS mouthpiece, Panchajanya, (see Main Article) rhetorically recreates the ambience of pre-medieval Karnataka to stress his point that the arrival of the lotus was pre-destined. KN Govindacharya (The Other Voice), warns that the BJP-RSS bonhomie may not last once the BJP tastes power and is forced to compromise with the very forces that are at variance with its puritanical beliefs.
Years back, the then Lok Sabha MP from Vadakara, Kerala, KP Unnikrishnan, said at a Press conference: <b>"When a string is pulled from Nagpur, Advani comes up and when another string is pulled Vajpayee moves up and this is the BJP." </b>He was referring to the popular perception that held that Nagpur was the southern headquarters of the saffron brigade.
The context in which Unnikrishnan spoke was quite controversial. The Congress and the Muslim League had fielded a common candidate and the BJP supported him against Unnikrishnan, who was then a sitting MP for five terms as well as Communications Minster in the VP Singh Government. Unnikrishnan used the BJP's support to warn the Muslims not to back the opposition candidate, M Ratnasingh, who was an RSS man.
<b>The RSS-BJP linkage has become more relevant today after the Karnataka election when we see the BJP forming a Government in the State on its own, thanks to the sweat and toil of its dedicated cadre and leaders. It was leaders like Krishnappaji who was the Kshetriya Pracharak of the RSS and the former Akhil Bharateeya Sarkarayvahak, HV Sheshadri, who was also from the State, who were instrumental in giving the Hindutva movement a base in the State.</b>
<b>The hard work of these leaders became the building blocks of the Hindutva movement in the State and with issues like the Hubli Idgah coming up, it became clear to the people of the State that it was the RSS and its subsidiaries that transformed the quality of the State's politics. It was crystal clear that years of hard work put in by the RSS in building up the Hindutva ideology and the grassroot activities gave the BJP the booth-level sincere worker who is so essential for any party dreaming to combat the Congress. </b>
Their systematic, day-to-day work through the Sangh shakhas is the bedrock of the party on which it based its forward movement in the State. In many parts of Kerala that are adjacent to Karnataka, the BJP enjoys the advantage of contiguity. This is reflected in the good results posted by the BJP in the Manjeswar Assembly seat in Kasargod district, where it routinely finishes second to the Muslim League. Political analysts and special branch police officers have already gone on record that the Left parties shift their votes to the Muslim League once it becomes certain that the BJP is on the verge of victory in this constituency, thereby depriving the BJP of a chance to open its account in the State Assembly.
In Tamil Nadu, the BJP won three Lok Sabha seats in a bipolar political environment and the Nagercoil seat was won by the BJP leader Pon Radhakrishnan who later went on to become a Minister in the Vajpayee Government. Nagercoil, which is near Thiruvananthapuram, has a good Hindutva base, which was built by the hard and step by step organisational work of the RSS.
<b>It may be recalled that a long struggle carried out by the Hindutva forces under the leadership of the RSS in Kanyakumari, which is near Nagercoil, to protect the existence of the Kanyakumari temple against the intrusion by a section of Christian missionaries who wanted the place to be named after Mother Mary.</b>
The RSS' struggle yielded favourable results and the Kanyakumari temple was prevented from becoming a Christian shrine. These facts make it clear that the organisational and cultural activities carried out by the dedicated cadre of the Sangh, has resulted in the growth of the BJP. In other words, the whole organisational system of the BJP revolves around the RSS.
In Kerala, it is only the BJP leaders with a RSS background who have grassroot support, whereas the others don't get this kind of support as the RSS cadre don't consider them part of the movement. The RSS shakhas act as a major source of the day-to-day contact among the cadre, making the organisation easier to implement its decisions. Also, the RSS has several programmes round the year which results in the cadre functioning like a well-oiled machine for the welfare of the country.
-- The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer, Kochi
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