With its decision to ban the RSS, the government has fired the last shot. Its armoury is now empty. The result cannot but be victory for what has come to be known as the RSS parivar. They cannot be blamed if they have begun to scent victory, though, of course, it is premature to proclaim it.
The bullet was known to be a dead one in advance. That is why the more discerning among the ministers and harassed civil servants were reluctant to use it. Till Thursday afternoon, the information from fairly reliable sources was that the RSS would not figure among the banned organisations. These sources also said that Mr Arjun Singh was insistent on its inclusion. Apparently he has had his way even if he has had to agree to a ban on the Jamaat-i-Islami Hind as well, reportedly at Mr Sharad Pawar’s instance.
On a surface view, the government did not have much of a choice since it had rashly committed itself to banning ‘communal organizations’ on December 6 when the Babri structure was demolished. But if it had realized the mistake and if it was in a position to defy pressure from the self-proclaimed guardians of secularism, constitution and the rule of law, it could have contented itself with a ban on the Bajrang Dal, the VHP and the Islamic Sevak Sangh.
The Jamaat-i-Islami does not figure in the present troubles – at least not directly and publicly. And, in the case of the RSS, there were good reasons to exclude it even on purely tactical considerations. It is too powerful to be toyed with and too large and amorphous to be captured, as Mrs Indira Gandhi discovered during the emergency. Moreover, Balasaheb Deoras had not endorsed the demolition of the Babri structure and there is no evidence to show that the RSS has been responsible for it. This is not to suggest that the VHP and the Bajrang Dal have done the deed. But if some action had to be taken, it had to be against them.
The government is having difficulty in ‘honouring’ its other equally rash commitment to rebuild the Babri structure. As if in answer to the question in this column on December 9, it has let it be known through some unidentified spokesman that it would seek to restore the status quo as it existed on December 6.
That means it will rebuild the structure and let the Ramlalla idols stay and be worshipped there. To whose satisfaction?
Judging by his television interview to Mr Dilip Padgaonkar on Thursday night, the Prime Minister is aware of the risks involved in the two commitments. But he has lost the initiative. Moreover, President Shankar Dayal Sharma is breathing down his neck.
He has told a Muslim leader that in contrast to Mr PV Narasimha Rao, he had described the disputed, now demolished, building in Ayodhya as a masjid and there is no reason to doubt the veracity of the Muslim leader’s account.
As if this was not enough cause for concern, Rashtrapati Bhavan has inspired a report to the effect that Dr Sharma had ‘no alternative’ but to take the unprecedented step of sending a directive to the Union government asking it to initiate ‘appropriate steps’ to uphold the law (The Economic Times, December 11).
The report deserves to be read by all those who want to know what is happening at the top echelons of the government. By comparison, Giani Zail Singh appears to have been an embodiment of patience in his dealings with Mr Rajiv Gandhi.
He took more than two years to give public expression to his grievances against the then Prime Minister.
Dr Sharma has found lack of response from the Prime Minister’s office ‘to a couple of inquiries’ by Rashtrapati Bhavan too grave an offence to be forgiven.
On the evening of December 6 when the government spoke and behaved as if darkness had descended on the land just because one miserable structure which was neither a mosque nor a temple had been demolished, it had no idea what was in store, and rushed into decisions and commitments which the Prime Minister shows every sign of regretting.
In the Thursday interview referred to earlier, he said “First, we have to bring about normalcy. Only when we have (a) good, peaceful situation, we will think of how commitments given already have to be implemented.” But he is not a free agent.
Shortly after the interview, the twin on the RSS was announced. Incidentally, the Prime Minister sidetracked the question regarding the desecration and destruction of 40 temples in Kashmir. Mr Padgaonkar could also have asked him about five within cycling distance of the Capital, in Gurgaon, where the police had joined the rioters, according to his own paper.
It is difficult to say how much more blood must spill and how much property must burn before those in positions of authority realize that they are playing roulette with the lives and livelihood of millions and that it makes no sense to either arrest, on flimsy charges, or disable, through ban, men who can help restore normalcy. Apparently they intend to go on playing roulette.
That some of them are contemplating dismissal of BJP governments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh and of appealing to the Election Commission to de-recognise the BJP is evidence enough. Desperate men engaged in desperate acts!
The Observer of Business and Politics, 12 December 1992