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Under Bhagwat too, Hindutva has a two-pronged objective—Hindu supremacy, Muslim subordination

Has Hindutva become moderate under Bhagwat? More specifically, does it accept Muslims as fellow Indians today, rather than seek their expulsion or extermination?

If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslims in India, he will not remain Hindu”, thus spoke Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS chief, at New York’s Madison Square Garden on 29 August.

This widely noted remark triggered two sets of responses. One claimed that Hindutva was either not originally anti-Muslim, or that it had moved decisively towards ideological moderation under Bhagwat’s tutelage. The former position would imply that those who claimed that Hindutva was anti-Muslim were either guilty of conceptual misidentification, or worse, were deliberately committing an act of political mischief. But the latter position would not deny the RSS’ anti-Muslim origins; it would only emphasise its contemporary movement toward moderation under Bhagwat’s leadership.

The second set of responses was unremittingly critical. It accused Bhagwat of “tere munh per teri si, mere munh per meri si” (“one face at home, another abroad”). In India, the RSS targets Muslims. Overseas, it projects magnanimity and a preference for religious harmony.  Indeed, this claim of double-facedness, or duplicity, led to 90-odd US political leaders, including lawmakers such as Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal, signing a pledge that they would not accept financial donations from organisations or individuals linked to the RSS. Earlier, the hugely popular mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, had said that he would have banned Bhagwat’s event at the Madison Square Garden, but he did not have the legal authority to do so.

Since politicians and political parties are always looking to raise money, such fund-denying positions acquire a........

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