The Deep State, as I’ve written earlier, is sometimes linked to the ‘weaponisation’ of soft power. And if soft power is the name of the game, then the organisation most adept at it is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS.
Established a hundred years ago (on Vijaya Dashami 1925) in Nagpur, the RSS was founded by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, a political protege of BS Moonje, who had sided with Bal Gangadhar Tilak when the Congress split between the Extremists and the Moderates. Since then, its influence has spread far and wide.
The RSS lends its ‘baudhik’ (intellectual) support not just to the BJP but to several front organisations, including the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (its student wing), the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (farmers’ union), the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (labour front), and the Rashtriya Sevika Sangh (for women). Its affiliates also include the Rashtriya Muslim Manch and the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat. The social service organisation Vivekananda Kendra and the security think-tank Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) trace their roots to the RSS as well.
The three most influential members of the Modi government’s first and second PMO—Nripendra Mishra, PK Mishra, and Ajit Doval—were all key members of the VIF. Ajit Doval continues as National Security Adviser, while PK Mishra serves as Principal Secretary to the PM. Nripendra Mishra now heads the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra and the Prime Ministers Memorial and Library at Teen Murti.
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RSS and the ‘Deep Nation’
A well-researched book on the RSS by Dinesh Narayanan, The RSS and the Making of the Deep Nation, captures various facets of the Sangh in a dispassionate manner, detailing its unwavering and patient march toward transforming India into a Hindu Rashtra.
The process is subtle but sure, and manifests itself in many ways. For instance, invitations for the G20 dinner were issued from the ‘President of Bharat’ (in English), a departure from the traditional bilingual format where ‘India’ appeared on the English side of the invite and Bharat on the other. Similarly, the Republic Day invite from the Governor of Uttarakhand this year read ‘Shri Governor’ rather than the conventional ‘Hon’ble Governor.’ (It could just as well have been ‘Shri Rajyapal,’ just as the Defence Ministry always refers to the ‘Raksha Mantri’ instead of ‘Defence Minister.’)
In his book, Narayanan highlights the RSS-backed Samkalp Foundation for training potential civil servants and the fact that over four thousand of its ex-mentees are now part of the steel frame. But in defence of Samkalp, it must be said that its coaching and mentoring are open to all. Many other denominational institutions—from the SGPC to the YMCA, and universities like AMU, Jamia, Hamdard, and various state Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs)—also engage with aspiring civil servants.
Power politics and the Deep State
I would argue that the Deep State has to be seen through the lens of power politics. In fact, the elements said to constitute the Deep State actually operate through informal networks and express themselves through soft power.
From time immemorial, every ruling dispensation—monarchical regimes, feudal oligarchies, military dictatorships, communist politburos, and premiers in democracies—has sought to perpetuate its power and extend patronage. This is done through the conferment of knighthoods, decorations, medals, and other recognitions, as well as by appointing acolytes and followers to institutions that are part of the state’s ecosystem—universities, research centres, memorials, cultural and linguistic bodies, book trusts, and festival committees.
In fact—as Kallol Bhattacharjee’s Nehru’s First Recruits: The Diplomats Who Built Independent India’s Foreign Policy shows—the first inductees into the Foreign Service were well-heeled, “upper-class, upper-caste” gentlemen from families of the princely states that merged with India. Lateral entrants, including Khushwant Singh and Harivansh Rai Bachchan, were resented by direct recruits. After 1948, when IFS recruitment moved to the UPSC, Nehru would personally interview top-ranked candidates to assess their “suitability and temperament” for representing India. But the fact that they were selected by Nehru did not make them part of the Deep State.
A clear distinction must be made between appointments in state-supported institutions—from the UGC to the ICAR—and those which are not formally part of the state. When it comes to nominations to consultative bodies—such as the workers’ delegation to the ILO—the BJP would prefer members of the BMS, just as the Congress and the Left included members of their respective trade unions INTUC, CITU, and AITUC. During the UPA dispensation, several Congress-ruled state governments sought the endorsement of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies (RGICS) for their legislation. The nomination of scholars to bodies like ICSSR, ICCR, and UGC follows a similar pattern.
The point to note is that when any political executive has to choose between loyalty and competence, the former takes overriding priority. And I say this with authority, having worked with the Left Front and TMC in West Bengal, the Congress and BJP in Uttarakhand, and the UPA and NDA in the Government of India.
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Transparency as the antidote to the Deep State
The only possible alternative—which is easier said than done—is to strengthen institutional capacities, whether in NITI Aayog, the National Security Advisory Board, or the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. While governance must remain under the complete control of the elected political leadership, advisory bodies should be as broad and inclusive as possible.
This aligns with what IIM-Kolkata professors C Panduranga Bhatta and Pragyan Rath argue in their treatise, The Art of Leading in a Borderless World. They point out that the ruler must follow Raj Dharma by ensuring the alignment of Prabhushakti (the power of sovereignty), Mantrashakti (the power of knowledge), and Utsahshakti (the power of enthusiastic energy). Institutional capacity-building falls under Mantrashakti, which must be strengthened by Prabhushakti—achieved, in the Indian context, through universal adult franchise conducted by the Election Commission.
This, along with the UPSC, which selects IAS, IFS, IPS cadres, and the officers joining the defence and CAPFs, would strengthen India’s steel frame in a transparent manner. Transparency is, in fact, the only antidote to the Deep State.
Coupled with legislative oversight and judicial scrutiny, it will ensure that governance functions are carried out in alignment with the provisions of the Constitution.
Sanjeev Chopra is a former IAS officer and Festival Director of Valley of Words. Until recently, he was director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. He tweets @ChopraSanjeev. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)