Dr Moonje did not want the RSS to be what it is today

‘The RSS is not run by ideology. It’s run for political benefit’ Q&A Anand Moonje Former director, Bhonsala Military School Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 12, Dated 24 Mar 2012 Rana Ayyub is Assistant Editor, Mumbai with Tehelka. rana@tehelka.com

Anand Moonje, former director of the Bhonsala Military School in Nashik tells Rana Ayyub that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is talking about building more military schools only because the Hindutva organisation has now run out of ideas. EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW

Recently, at the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Bhonsala Military School, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat spoke about the threat to the country’s internal security and about the need for starting more such military schools. Do you agree?

Can you ask Mohan Bhagwat if ideology and the idea of India matter to him? I was a part of the Sangh Parivar, was in jail during the Emergency, and was part of the Kar Seva in 1990. I was a core RSS man, still am where ideology is concerned. But the Sangh has forgotten its ideology. My grandfather Dr BS Moonje and my maternal grandfather Dr Paranjpe, founders of the Sangh, mentored KB Hedgewar. In 1947-48, while BR Ambedkar was negotiating for the Dalits and Jinnah for the Muslims, as president of the Hindu Mahasabha, my grandfather was negotiating for the cause of Hindus, but the Sangh is now marketing Hindutva for electoral gains.

So, is Bhagwat being hypocritical when he says that the Bhonsala Military School should be an inspiration?

Dr Moonje did not want the RSS to be what it is today. The RSS today is not run by ideology. It is run for political benefit. Do you know why they lost the Uttar Pradesh elections? Because the people in the state were with the BJP for Hindutva and the RSS has commercialised Hindutva. They promise Ram temple and put corrupt people in the state who have nothing to do with ideology. The purpose is not ideology, but to make money. When they have dissociated from Hedgewar, MS Golwalkar and Moonje, how long do you think they will take to dissociate themselves from Ram?

But why have you never spoken out against all this?

They have maligned my image, but I am still affiliated to the Sangh. I have my grandfather’s legacy. I was appalled, which is why I am speaking now. I wrote to Mohan Bhagwat and senior RSS members that his statues are in a dismal state in Delhi and Nagpur, but they did not bother. Hedgewarji’s biography was published during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime. The book said that Dr Moonje was responsible for the rift in the Hindu Mahasabha and today the same people go to the Bhonsala Military School and try to capitalise on the goodwill that he had built. How low can they stoop?

Autobiographical Notes and Other Writings of Historical Interest

I repeat my regret that I am compelled to disappoint you. Yours sincerely, Aurobindo Ghose. To Balkrishna Shivaram Moonje. [1]. Pondicherry. Aug 30. 1920 ... 

Sri Aurobindo and the Cripps Mission to India

On 2 April, Sri Aurobindo telegraphed Dr. B. S. Moonje, a former nationalist colleague, now head of the Hindu Mahasabha, and C. Rajagopalachari, the ... 

Partition, Aurobindo, and the truth sify.com 28 Aug 2009

Duraiswami was also to meet Dr. BS Moonje, Sri Aurobindo's former colleague and a leader of the Hindu Mahasabha. The next day, Cripps ... 

The Political Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo - Google Books Result - V. P. Varma - 1990 - Philosophy - 494 pages

Aurobindo possibly sent messages to C. Rajgopalachari and Dr.-Moonje regarding the proposals of Cripps. It is said that he also sent a personal messenger to ... 

Indian critiques of Gandhi - Google Books Result - Harold G. Coward - 2003 - Biography & Autobiography - 287 pages

As he wrote B. S. Moonje, the chairman of the Reception Committee of the Indian National Congress in response to Moonje's letter requesting that Aurobindo ... 

Doctorji

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Aurobindo to develop the core philosophy of the ...He was sent to Kolkata by Dr. B. S. Moonje in 1910 to pursue his medical ... 

Call for Courage of Conviction | Shri Golwalkar Guruji

In about the year 1920, Dr. Moonje, who was in those days a great Congress ... Dr. Hedgewar, came to Madras on his way to meet Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry.  

Marketime: Sri Aurobindo spared no one, not even Gandhi for whom ... 27 May 2009 – 

That which Aurobindo saw in 1903, Hedgewar saw in 1920. On the eve of the Nagpur Congress, Dr. Hedgewar with Dr. Moonje, realizing with ...

The Lokpal Bill is very authoritarian

Swamy now targets team Anna; compare them with Naxalists Newstrack India - According to media reports, Swami has called Team Anna to behave like Naxalists and alleged them to be more serious in defaming the system and dragging the ... Team Anna behaving like Naxalites: Swamy‎ Zee News Nagpur: Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy Thursday alleged that Team Anna was behaving like "Naxalites" as they were "not keen on solutions" and instead bent on dragging the issue of corruption. "Though Anna Hazare is spreading the anti-corruption movement and wants a strong Jan Lok Pal bill to tackle the menace, his team members are behaving like Naxalites," Swamy told newsmen, here today. "Team Anna was not keen on solutions but dragging the issue and was more interested in defaming the system," he said. 

Jairam's advice: No politics for activists MSN India - ‎Mon, 12 Mar 2012 Source: India Today - Ramesh gave this advice to Popat Pawar, but the reference could well be to Anna Hazare. New Delhi:

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh believes when social activists take a political call, it only sets them back. The reference could well be to Anna Hazare. Ramesh gave this advice to Popat Pawar, whose efforts have brought Hivre-Bazar in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district in the category of model villages, quite like Hazare's Ralegan Siddhi. "I want you not to undertake a hunger strike or wear a Gandhi cap. Please work for rural development, but keep away from politics," the minister said. But Pawar reminded Ramesh that Hazare was his source of inspiration and they were not competing.

Anupam Kher says Anna Hazare is a saviour Times of India - ‎Mar 10, 2012‎ Lata Srinivasan, TNN Mar 11, 2012

"Screen pe leader aur neta bahut ban ke dekh liya. I wanted to feel alive by being close to a real crusader. Anna Hazare is a god-sent saviour," the actor said emotionally. "The only time I felt so close to divinity was when I met Mother Teresa."

Anna Hazare is no Gandhi, says Om Puri - Mumbai - DNA By Shabana Ansari Thursday, Feb 9, 2012 MUMBAI – Om Puri has raised his voice again—this time against Hazare’s“simplicity and lack of vision”.

“Anna is an honest and simple man with a heart of gold and his contribution in waking up the masses is immense. But unfortunately, he is not Mahatma Gandhi who had the vision and the knowledge to see things through,” Puri told DNA.

Denying that he called Hazare an “uneducated man” as was reported in a section of the media recently, the thespian claimed that all he wanted to say was that the activist’s methods were too simple and impractical. “I don’t doubt Anna’s sincerity towards the cause but his capability in getting the Lokpal Bill passed. I don’t think he understands the nitty-gritty of the matter,” he said.

Puri believes that to make the movement a success it is not enough to have a handful of supporters but experts and lawyers who understand the Constitution and its complexities. “The demands should be open to debate and there should be flexibility on both sides. By being stubborn over the Lokpal Bill, Anna has now got nothing,” he said.

Caste And Politics In Regard To Anna Hazare By Gail Omvedt 31 Dec 2011 Countercurrents.org

Hazare speaks of “civil society.” But, in Marxist terms, the concept of “civil society” covers a multitude of castes, classes and genders. The civil society of the elite is very different from the civil society of the toiling people. And, with the Lokpal idea, it seems clear that this elite, tired of dealing with even the limited – but growing – form of Indian democracy – wants to escape it, go beyond Parliament, and return to its old, unquestioned rule. The Lokpal Bill in fact is very authoritarian, in putting non-elected people of high class-caste background over elected officials and government bureaucrats (but not, as people have noted, over corporations!). (1) “Pal” means “guardian,” and the proposal recalls Plato's Guardians – philosopher-kings who would rule the state. Plato, of course, believed in something like a varna system – people would be said to have special “essences,” gold for rulers, silver for warriors, bronze and iron for workers and farmers. So apparently does Anna Hazare…

Meera Nanda has called Gandhi a “prophet looking backward.” Many may question Hazare's Gandhism – at times there seems more of the RSS in him (and regardless of disclaimers, his RSS connections are clear) – but in respect to taking the self-sufficient, stable village as an ideal, they are clearly the same. Dr. Gail Omvedt is an American born Indian scholar, sociologist and human rights activist. Omvedt has been involved in Dalit and anti-caste movements, environmental, farmers' and women's movements.

Breaking free of Nehru

Royal family takes out procession in Vadodara Ahmedabad Newsline ... and that was the reason why spiritualist like Maharshi Aurobindo and modernist like Dr BR Ambedkar were attracted towards him and served the kingdom.

Claude Arpi: August 15, 1947 in Pondicherry

15 Aug 2011 – Nehru was clearly not aware of Sri Aurobindo's role in India's Freedom... Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes ...

Breaking free of Nehru: let's unleash India! - Page 242 Sanjeev Sabhlok - 2008 - 267 pages - Full view

As Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) wrote: 'We must begin by accepting nothing on trust from any source whatsoever, by questioning everything and forming our own conclusions'.24 That was also the message of Socrates and Buddha 2500 years ago.

Sri Aurobindo: a centenary tribute K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar, Aurobindo Ghose - 1974 - 346 pages - Snippet view

When Independence came on 15 August 1947, Sri Aurobindo had remarked that it was no mere "fortuitous accident". If Jawaharlal Nehru described the advent of Freedom as "our tryst with Destiny", Sri Aurobindo saw in the synchronisation ...

The Spirit of Modern India - Page 236 Robert A. McDermott, V. S. Naravane - 2010 - 338 pages - Preview

Nehru reminded his people of the tryst that they had made with destiny: "At the stroke of the midnight hour, ... The "larger cause of humanity," of which Nehru spoke at Delhi, was also very much the concern of Sri Aurobindo as he hailed ...

Tradition and the rhetoric of right: popular political argument in ... - Page 325 David J. Lorenzo - 1999 - 339 pages - Preview

Nehru and Indira visited the Ashram together in 1955, when both paid homage at Aurobindo's grave. ... For Savitra's account of his typical American experience, see his Auroville: Sun- Word Rising/A Trust for the Earth (Auroville: The ...

Journal of religious studies: Volume 4, Issue 1; Volume 4, Issue 1 Punjabi University. Dept. of Religious Studies, Punjabi University. Dept. of Religious Studies - 1972 - Snippet view

For India, that day marked our "tryst with destiny," as Jawaharlal Nehru, India's Prime Minister, declared before Parliament. Sri Aurobindo, however, looked upon the identification of his birthday with India's as a free nation "not as a ...

Less than 4 percentage points swing in UP

A Flawed Democracy – The Case for Proportional Representation in India: Srinivasan Ramani from Kafila Guest post by SRINIVASAN RAMANI

It has been argued that the FPTP (First Past the Post) system has run its course in India and that it is time that the country adopted PR systems that would allow for representation of minorities and smaller parties in the legislatures. However, proponents of the FPTP system argue that PR is a recipe for instability as exemplified by the current political deadlock in Nepal, a similar socially stratified country that has adopted the PR system. It is also argued that the FPTP system has not discouraged the growth of smaller parties as seen in the gradual regionalisation and federalisation of India’s polity. And that affirmative action in the form of reservation of seats for marginalised groups such as the scheduled castes and tribes as also the need to obtain support from diverse sections of the population has ensured desirable outcomes in terms of representation, without sacrificing too much on inherent stability as compared to PR systems.

But as UP shows, there are glaring cases of skewed verdicts in the FPTP system. UP has the largest state assembly and it sends the largest number of representatives to Parliament. If the electoral trends in 2007 and 2012 are repeated regularly and the larger parties remain oriented in their social outlook to a limited set of castes and communities, the clamour for a shift to the PR system will only grow. (Srinivasan Ramani is Senior Assistant Editor, Economic and Political Weekly.)

BJP posed tough challenge to two main contenders Times of India Ashish Tripathi, TNN Mar 12, 2012

The BJP won 47 seats with a vote share of 15%, down from 16.97% in 2007, came second at 55, third at 110 and fourth at 123… The BJP lost 13 seats with less than 5000 margin, of which three were lost by a margin less than 500 votes. The BJP was in direct contest with SP at 43 places, of which it won 16, and with BSP at 30 seats, of which party won 13... 

In fact, a shift of just 3% floating votes towards the SP decided the results in 106 assembly constituencies… The 3% vote swing against BSP is of floating votes comprising all castes and communities. These floating votes went to SP, resulting in 3% swing in its favour. The swing mostly has been in the Muslim votes. The Muslims largely voted for BSP in 2007 and Congress in 2009 but this time they are back with SP.  

Election results 2012: Regime change doesn't spell end of Rahul ... Economic Times - Mar 7, 2012, 02.08AM IST By Yogendra Yadav

We rush to conclude that everything the Congress tried in UP was a mistake and that it has no future. We are eager to find nothing short of a tectonic shift in Indian politics in this round of assembly elections.

Learning from cricket commentary would invite us to look at the small print behind the big banner headlines. We would notice that all the big verdicts were results of a very small shift in votes. Even Uttar Pradesh witnessed only about 4 percentage points swing away from Mayawati.

Lesson of the UP polls - To win in Uttar Pradesh, a party needs a reliable core vote MUKUL KESAVAN Calcutta Telegraph Thursday , March 8 , 2012 The Brahmins, especially, are political tourists. 

Yogendra Yadav suggested that the post-poll survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies showed that the categories pundits used to understand the politics of UP had been left behind by electoral reality. The reality was that people didn’t vote according to their identities to the same extent as they had done before. The survey’s most radical claim was that the Jatav rock on which the BSP was built had split, with a fifth of that vote going to the old enemy, the Samajwadi Party. Shekhar Gupta in The Indian Express declared that elections in contemporary India were becoming more meritocratic, that pandering to caste and community identities (as the Congress and the BJP had tried to do) didn’t pay off any more.

Party	Sahibabad	Ghaziabad	Noida	Remarks [TNM55]
BSP	124	64	50	Wins 2 seats
BJP	100	52	77	Wins 1 seat
Congress	51	37	25	3rd in 2 seats
SP	36	17	42	3rd in 1 seat