India is in a fresh debate on the identity of the country, in which the powerful Rashtarpat Sangh (RSS) – a Hindu nationalist organization established in 1925 – urges a change in the Constitution.
The RSS is seen as an ideological patron of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been India since 2014 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Its members take membership of “Hindutva” – a main political ideology that promotes the value of Hinduism as the foundation stone of Indian society and culture – and works to influence India’s politics. Labor Association, and Civil Society.
The RSS says what is illegitimate to Diflingandia as ‘secular’
At a recent book launch event in New Delhi, RSS General Secretary Datatreya Hosabale said that the original 1949 has defined India at the core of the Constitution as a “sovereign democratic republic”.
In 1976, the words “socialist” and “secular” were added, during the nationwide state imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in which Gandhi used to use emergency powers to suppress his political opponents. According to Hosabale, the preamble was replaced “When Parliament was under siege” and India’s democracy was effectively suspended. Therefore, they argue, this step was illegitimate.
‘Western vocabulary is untrained’
The RSS emphasizes that secularism and socialism are affected by foreign concepts throughout the lens in India. He believes that anyone born in India is considered a Hindu, because his ancestors were Hindus before Muslim and Christian influence. According to this ideology, creating all a Hindu nation of India means that secularism – the separation of religion and state – will be overwhelmed.
“Hindutva itself is the greatest guarantee of secularism,” RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambekar said in a special comment for DW, saying that the change in the preamble under Indira Gandhi distorted the founding vision of the Indian Republic.
Some members of the ruling BJP are in favor of resetting the preamble. In 2020, BJP legalist Rakesh Sinha made a resolution to Parliament, seeking the removal of “secular” and “socialist” from the document.
“The method of life that is naturally diversity as diversity is true secularism. It is a Hindu way of life.
BJP lacks majority to change the constitution
Despite the ongoing political pressure, India’s Supreme Court last year asked to include “socialist” and “secular” in the definition that they strengthen the basic values of independence, equality and justice of India.
Ratan Lal, a historian of Delhi University, said, “The problem for those advocating Hindu nation is that secularism stands in the way Hinduism is declared as a state religion.”
“In the West, secularism means to separate religion and state. In India, it means that the state has no official religion, but breathing all religions,” Heer said.
And in the field of politics, any change in the Constitution is not likely with the current balance of power in Parliament. The BJP controls 240 out of 543 seats in the lower house, lower than the two-thirds majority required to change the Lok Sabha, the Constitution. Therefore, at least half of the 28 states of India will need to sign changes.
“The mandate made it clear that the people of India rejected any attempt to old the constitution,” said Supriya Shrinet, a Congress party spokesman Supriya Shrinet, which is the largest opposition faction in India.
He dismissed the demands of RSS as “diversionary strategy” aimed at suppressing issues related to India’s economy and foreign policy.
RSS appears in 2029 elections
Political analyst Abbe Kumar explains that removing the word “secularism” would be a difficult sales with Modi’s ruling camp.
“Even the BJP’s own party constitution supports secularism. Any step will first require internal changes within its own structure.”
But Kumar warned that there are results of increasing this debate.
“This fuel the anxiety between minorities and depth polarization,” he said.
Therefore, the symbolic removal of “secularism” and “socialism” indicates a change towards majority politics, with a long -term impact on India’s social harmony and its image as various democracy.
According to the analyst, “Everything we are seizing is the RSS laying groundwork for future election numbers, which is ahead of 2029.”
Another fight, another victory for Hindu nationalist?
So far, the Modi government has fulfilled all the agenda items set by the RSS, including the specific status of Jammu and Kashmir and the cancellation of anecdote, the construction of the Ram temple at the site of the historic Babri Masjid in Uttar Pradesh, and passing the citizens for amendment of citizens for amendment of citizens.
Now, the RSS has been pushed to redefine India’s secularism, the conflict between India’s competition scene may soon take the center stage.
Kumar told DW, “This will be a live issue in Indian politics, will shape the debate in the coming years.”
Edited by: Darko Jenjeevic
