While making the unwarranted and unsubstantiated allegation of how the judiciary is scared of “five-star” activists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have forgotten intimidating outfits like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which are affiliated to his own party.
How the RSS interacts with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can be seen from the regular meetings between its top leaders with party president Amit Shah and other top office-bearers. The ascension of Ram Madhav (a former RSS spokesperson) to the post of National General Secretary of the BJP is only one example of the close ties between the pro-Hindutva organisation and the BJP government.
However, if the RSS influences the government, the latter also holds some sway over the RSS. The proof of this two-way interaction can be easily gleaned from the decision of the RSS to put the Ram temple issue on hold, apparently in response to Modi’s call for a moratorium on sectarian tension in his Independence Day speech.
It is also possible that the reason why the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, no longer argues that all Indians are essentially Hindus is because of an internal understanding between him and the government.
Arguably, there is nothing unusual about such interactions between different wings of what the Hindutva camp claims to be one big “parivar” or family.
But the point here is that such exchanges between the RSS and the government take place behind closed doors, whereas there is nothing secret about the pleas of the “five-star” activists, as the prime minister derisively called the various Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), before the judiciary.
Besides, not only are the NGOs open to judicial and media scrutiny, but their emphasis is almost always on public welfare irrespective of their religious denominations and preferences.
It is possible, of course, that there is a hidden political motive behind some of their initiatives or that some of the activists push an agenda which has the support of what Indira Gandhi used to call the “foreign hand”. Even then, what stands in favour of the activists is that their tacit intentions are liable to be revealed sooner or later as the lawyers for and against them present their cases in open courts.
Unfortunately, this isn’t true of saffron organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which have traditionally been associated with an anti-minority outlook. What the general public will be grateful to the government, therefore, is if it can keep outfits like these in check.
On the other hand, the average citizen will expect the NGOs to continue to function without fear or favour because they are known to consist of people who, to a very large extent, have no axes to grind. The very fact that they occasionally run afoul of governments is testimony to their impartiality and non-partisan behaviour. Moreover, in such cases, the government’s charges, as against Greenpeace, usually carry less conviction than the latter’s defences.
It will be a pity if India is to begin to resemble the totalitarian and theocratic countries where NGOs are unwelcome. It has to be remembered these NGOs are very much unlike the RSS or the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which are opaque organisations who admit followers of only one religion as members.
It goes without saying that the three institutions which enjoy considerable public trust are the judiciary, the media and the NGOs. Of the three, the last two may have their faults, but they operate in an open, competitive field where the slightest slip can be disastrous for their future.
In contrast, the general reputation of politicians is hardly lily-white.
One must be thankful that Indian democracy is far more vigorous today than, say, four decades ago when large sections of the media were accused of bending and crawling before a draconian government. Such an eventuality is extremely unlikely at present because of the huge proliferation of television channels, newspapers and magazines, not to mention social network sites.
The judiciary, too, has recognised that the Emergency years (1975-77) were not its finest, as is evident from the comments of PN Bhagwati, one of the judges who delivered the verdict in the so-called habeas corpus case. According to him, his judgment was “an act of weakness”, adding that “it was against my conscience”.
Although the media is seemingly not under any overt official pressure, there is little doubt that the NGOs have become somewhat more vulnerable, as the recent deplaning of an environmentalist, who was on her way to Britain, showed. As may be expected, it was the judiciary which came to her rescue.
But the episode underlined the government’s ire, which is probably due to the fact that several NGOs
had joined the National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Minorities and the Supreme Court to pillory the Gujarat government under Modi during the 2002 riots.
The apex court had then described the state’s rulers as “modern-day Neros” who fiddled while Gujarat burnt. Modi’s charge that the judges fear the NGOs is apparently a riposte to that accusation 12 years later.
How the RSS interacts with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can be seen from the regular meetings between its top leaders with party president Amit Shah and other top office-bearers. The ascension of Ram Madhav (a former RSS spokesperson) to the post of National General Secretary of the BJP is only one example of the close ties between the pro-Hindutva organisation and the BJP government.
However, if the RSS influences the government, the latter also holds some sway over the RSS. The proof of this two-way interaction can be easily gleaned from the decision of the RSS to put the Ram temple issue on hold, apparently in response to Modi’s call for a moratorium on sectarian tension in his Independence Day speech.
It is also possible that the reason why the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, no longer argues that all Indians are essentially Hindus is because of an internal understanding between him and the government.
Arguably, there is nothing unusual about such interactions between different wings of what the Hindutva camp claims to be one big “parivar” or family.
But the point here is that such exchanges between the RSS and the government take place behind closed doors, whereas there is nothing secret about the pleas of the “five-star” activists, as the prime minister derisively called the various Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), before the judiciary.
Besides, not only are the NGOs open to judicial and media scrutiny, but their emphasis is almost always on public welfare irrespective of their religious denominations and preferences.
It is possible, of course, that there is a hidden political motive behind some of their initiatives or that some of the activists push an agenda which has the support of what Indira Gandhi used to call the “foreign hand”. Even then, what stands in favour of the activists is that their tacit intentions are liable to be revealed sooner or later as the lawyers for and against them present their cases in open courts.
Unfortunately, this isn’t true of saffron organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which have traditionally been associated with an anti-minority outlook. What the general public will be grateful to the government, therefore, is if it can keep outfits like these in check.
On the other hand, the average citizen will expect the NGOs to continue to function without fear or favour because they are known to consist of people who, to a very large extent, have no axes to grind. The very fact that they occasionally run afoul of governments is testimony to their impartiality and non-partisan behaviour. Moreover, in such cases, the government’s charges, as against Greenpeace, usually carry less conviction than the latter’s defences.
It will be a pity if India is to begin to resemble the totalitarian and theocratic countries where NGOs are unwelcome. It has to be remembered these NGOs are very much unlike the RSS or the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which are opaque organisations who admit followers of only one religion as members.
It goes without saying that the three institutions which enjoy considerable public trust are the judiciary, the media and the NGOs. Of the three, the last two may have their faults, but they operate in an open, competitive field where the slightest slip can be disastrous for their future.
In contrast, the general reputation of politicians is hardly lily-white.
One must be thankful that Indian democracy is far more vigorous today than, say, four decades ago when large sections of the media were accused of bending and crawling before a draconian government. Such an eventuality is extremely unlikely at present because of the huge proliferation of television channels, newspapers and magazines, not to mention social network sites.
The judiciary, too, has recognised that the Emergency years (1975-77) were not its finest, as is evident from the comments of PN Bhagwati, one of the judges who delivered the verdict in the so-called habeas corpus case. According to him, his judgment was “an act of weakness”, adding that “it was against my conscience”.
Although the media is seemingly not under any overt official pressure, there is little doubt that the NGOs have become somewhat more vulnerable, as the recent deplaning of an environmentalist, who was on her way to Britain, showed. As may be expected, it was the judiciary which came to her rescue.
But the episode underlined the government’s ire, which is probably due to the fact that several NGOs
had joined the National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Minorities and the Supreme Court to pillory the Gujarat government under Modi during the 2002 riots.
The apex court had then described the state’s rulers as “modern-day Neros” who fiddled while Gujarat burnt. Modi’s charge that the judges fear the NGOs is apparently a riposte to that accusation 12 years later.