India's lifting of ban on officials joining Hindu group ignites debate

The lifting of a ban on government officials joining the ideological parent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has sparked a debate on the potential impact of the move on the neutrality of the country's bureaucracy.

- Nirmala Ganapathy

On July 30, the Ministry of Home Affairs uploaded on its website an order passed on July 9 - removing the four-decade-old ban on officials joining the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an outfit working for Hindu unity in the Hindu-majority country.

Prior to the lifting of the ban, government officials risked a sevenyear jail term or the loss of their jobs for taking part in activities of the RSS or any other proscribed organisation under the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules.

The overarching speculation about the lifting of the ban has been that it is aimed at mollifying the RSS, amid talk that all is not well between the BJP and the organisation.

RSS leaders and associates have made statements construed by a cross-section of analysts and the media as criticism of the political party over its poor showing in the Indian general election that concluded in June.

After the election results, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said a true sevak (a person whose job is to serve people) must not be "arrogant".

Separately, in an article published in RSS mouthpiece Organiser, Mr Ratan Sharda, a senior RSS member, called the poll results a "reality check for overconfident" BJP leaders and workers.

He wrote that BJP workers and leaders appeared "happy in their bubble" and failed to listen to voices on the ground.

Opposition parties and critics of the government have strongly objected to the lifting of the ban, asserting that this formally opens the door for bureaucrats to be ideologically influenced by Hindutva, or Hindu nationalism. They accuse the RSS of promoting Hindu unity to the exclusion of minorities, a charge denied by the group.

"This will be a challenge to the sense of neutrality of public servants in government offices and the supremacy of the Constitution," tweeted Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the main opposition Congress party, on July 22.