By Krishna Jha
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is not unaware of the fact that it is education that dispels darkness and unveils knowledge. That is why when the RSS chief was to have a session with Gen Z, they knew what would be the agenda. In order to misguide the society, one would only need distortion of facts by compliant historians. Based on Hindutva, packaged in ancient civilisational values, it has proved itself equally devastating as was the initiative inbuilt in the policy to allow unbridled corporatisation of the education sector. This has led to end the prime position of education. To provide education to people was always considered any government’s prime responsibility, but that has now been handed over to unscrupulous private players.
It is today common knowledge that all the educational and research institutions from primary schools to universities are run by people of their own choice. The appointments are selective and chosen by the RSS, with only members of associated organizations making the grade. From school teachers to Vice Chancellors, from directors of academic and research institutions to bosses of autonomous bodies, there has been a brazen takeover by the rightist forces. These appointments lead to reorientation of studies and research, under direct patronage of the forces of right and vitiate the whole educational system.
Another aspect is the revision of syllabi according to rightist creed. That has been undertaken by bodies like the NCERT, CBSE or various state boards. Distorting the facts, attempts have been made to ruin their objectivity, which is a significant factor in protection of scientific outlook. The medieval period and also the Mughal era and Freedom Struggle have suffered wholesale deletions. In higher education syllabi, brazen cuts have been made to suit the anti-Muslim stance of the RSS and to accommodate RSS or other Hindutva personages into history. Despite their negative and destructive role in history, attempts have made to give them free hand in the context of distortion. In fact, the curriculum is now under close watch. Anything that is inconvenient to Hindutva nationalism stays out. Questions of caste and gender, conflicts and contradictions within society, and the facts of different kinds of divisions in society are being censored. Writers and thinkers whom the RSS regard as left wing or non-nationalist are being removed.
However, the financial aspect of how RSS could capture the education system is yet to be brought in the public glare. This takes myriad forms – from sponsoring workshops and seminars to giving scholarships to study suitable subjects that could feed the distortions for the prescribed books produced by these RSS-inspired organizations. From the point of view of the Sangh Parivar, this operation has two benefits – it funnels money to the RSS affiliates, and it facilitates the spread of their toxic ideology.
All these factors helped RSS to acquire control over almost all educational institutions. In institutions controlled by the RSS, students are not allowed the freedom to ask questions, the freedom to express their thoughts, and the freedom to pursue one’s interests and do what one wishes to do. One must understand that the freedom to think on one’s own or the freedom to ask questions can only be exercised if the right of the student to know is respected. Students should have the right to access information and knowledge from all sources. It is the duty of the institutions and teachers to expose them to diverse sources of knowledge. That right is in peril today.
Slowly, our educational institutions are being turned into versions of the Saraswati Shishu Mandirs run by the RSS. Studies of the pedagogy, curriculum, and daily routine of the Shishu Mandirs show how young minds are ideologically conditioned into Hindutva. RSS itself has been long treating education as an important means to shape the cultural and political imagination of the young; studies of its schools have documented how history and social identity can be taught in ways that make non-Hindus appear as enemies.
Bhagwat cannot escape the havoc the RSS has brought upon the education system. Moreover, while Bhagwat during his interaction with members of Gen-Z projected himself as a voice of moderation by stating that Gen Z should not be branded anti-national, several of his colleagues, including prominent RSS office-bearer Atul Limaye and BJP leaders like MPs Nishikant Dubey and Kangana Ranaut, publicly levelled serious allegations against protesting youths during the nationwide protests over the NEET controversy.
This contradiction is impossible to ignore. These allegations make Bhagwat’s interaction with select members of the Gen Z a carefully calibrated political strategy — one voice attempts to soften the image of the establishment while another continues to intimidate, polarise and delegitimise dissent. The Indian youth cannot be misled by this ‘double standard’ approach of the RSS.
If Bhagwat genuinely believes Gen Z deserves dialogue, dignity and trust, then he should show some moral consistency. For Bhagwat, that would mean not just publicly disapproving the RSS and the BJP leaders who have repeatedly questioned the intentions and patriotism of young Indians. That would also mean the RSS chief introspecting why such filthy language comes out of the leaders of the Sangh Parivar for our young generation. Moreover, that would mean Bhagwat admitting that his RSS is the very cause of the crisis rather than the solution. For the crisis to be resolved, it is imperative to free the education system from the grip of the RSS.
Young Indians are asking for quality education, transparent examinations, employment opportunities and accountability in governance. Neither Bhagwat, nor the RSS or the BJP government has any answer to this question. (IPA Service)
