WARMING UP TO OUTLANDERS, THE SANGH WAY

Trouble ensues when a lateral entrant to the BJP crosses the red lines etched by the Sangh. Even faithfuls can fall out of favour for insubordination

- RADHIKA RAMASESHAN

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) might celebrate its overtures to communities and individuals outside its ideological perimeter—the latest being Sarsanghachalak Mohanrao Bhagwat's session with a congregation of Islamic clerics, ostensibly to mitigate Muslim alienation and antipathy to the Sangh fraternity, especially the BJP. But make no mistake. When it comes to inducting and accommodating heavy-hitters from outside the saffron clan's circumference, the RSS freezes.

The BJP's spectacular success in electoral politics doubtless forced the Sangh to try and assimilate parivar outsiders who came with a cachet that could enhance the BJP's appeal and possibly its votes, like a celebrity from the cinema world or an individual belonging to a caste outside the BJP's purview. The Sangh's—and, by extension, the BJP's—net to snag trophies is spread across a vast expanse.

However, the welcome carries a quid pro quo—it is not one-sided, marked with a profusion of garlands and warm words. The red lines drawn by the Sangh are firmly etched beneath the ceremonial trappings. A lateral entrant must adhere to the precepts and practices laid down by the family head, and no dodging is brooked. Insubordination, even from a faithful, is never tolerated. Over time, some lateral entrants stayed the course, willingly or unwillingly; but those who ostensibly felt suffocated by the rigours of school-masterly discipline strayed away, quit and at times disappeared into oblivion.