Thanks to the convenient gullibility of those commenting on his speeches, Mohan Bhagwat is on the verge of becoming the new Jawaharlal Nehru. His recent “celebration” of diversity is being dutifully showcased as the RSS chief effecting an important shift. Thankfully, the evidence shows what he actually said: That diversity is decoration; it is beautification of unity. This is in contrast to the notion that diversity is not only an inseparable part of what we once understood as Indianness, but diversity actually facilitates our unity. Therefore, what Bhagwat said in North America is not a real shift but a tactical positioning of the idea of Hindutva to make it acceptable to a wider audience that adopts naivety as the method of analysis.

To be fair, Bhagwat has earlier also adopted the argument that Muslims in India are not “outsiders” and that people of all religions should live amicably. So, should we be thankful to him for this concession? Should we say that he is changing the way Hindutva is understood now, or should we put his utterances in context before we jump to certify his inclusionary credentials?

Three things provide the context. First, Bhagwat is not an individual. He is the chief of a “voluntary” organisation that supervises a........

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