New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat is more liberal than many other RSS leaders, past or present, and wants to liberalise the organisation, former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) S.Y. Quraishi told ThePrint in an interview.
Quraishi, who was part of a five-member Muslim delegation that met Bhagwat in 2022, also said the RSS chief told him that whenever he made a “secular statement”, he came under attack from within the RSS itself.
Quraishi has also written about the meeting in his new book, India and I: A Hundred Memories, Not a Memoir, saying it was an initiative by “a small group of friends deeply worried about the growing insecurity among Muslims and convinced that dialogue is the only way forward”.
“We do feel that he is more liberal… than many other RSS leaders, past and present, and he has been consistent about it. He has been making such statements for three years or so, and at the same time, he told us that things will change, but it will take time,” said Quraishi.
“He said it repeatedly (that things will change), and because he said, for 100 years, we have been saying different things; for us to take a U-turn will be difficult. Therefore, it will take time, so have patience,” he added.
Quraishi said that since that meeting, he has met Bhagwat three times and had a few meetings with a close aide of Bhagwat as well. These meetings have painted a liberal image of the RSS chief in Quraishi’s mind.
“He (Bhagwat) made another observation. He said, ‘Look, when I make a secular statement, you cannot imagine how much attack I come under from my own RSS and in the community’. Which is absolutely correct, because we saw some video abusing him literally, and that he should be removed,” Quraishi said.
“I think he wants to liberalise his organisation and he has been consistent about it,” he added.
Recalling the 2022 meeting with Bhagwat, Quraishi said in the interview, “We asked him, ‘What will be the position of Muslims in your Hindu Rashtra?’ He came out with a very strong statement. He said, ‘Hum Musalmanon ke bina Hindu Rashtra ki kalpana bhi nahi kar sakte’.”
“He said, ‘We can’t even imagine a Hindu Rashtra without Muslims because we are equal citizens and we have to work for the country’s development together’. That was very reassuring.” Quraishi added.
Quraishi told ThePrint that the delegation went to brief five top Muslim leaders after the 2022 meeting.
“They all said that we did the right thing. They did not question our meeting. Some people, particularly of the left wing, were critical, but all the Muslim leaders supported us. At the same time, they were skeptical whether anything would come out of it. But that does not matter. We have to make an effort. The result is in the hands of Allah. Therefore, what you did was the right thing,” he said.
‘State policy to keep Muslims out’
In his book, Quraishi also referred to what he says was the only time he faced communal discrimination in 40 years of civil service.
The incident dates back to the 1991 Haryana elections, when he was the Commissioner of Gurgaon Division and Resident Commissioner at Haryana Bhavan. However, when elections were announced, he was appointed as an election observer in another district.
He wrote that he was later told that this was because the Gurgaon Division included Mewat, which has a substantial Muslim population, and therefore it wasn’t “advisable” for him to be on election duty there.
“It was totally indefensible. So I did that duty as an observer. But this incident left a scar because this was against my overall experience,” he said in the interview.
Quraishi said that “all the glory to me has come from the Hindus. So to be looked at from the communal lens was a grave offense”.
While he said that he hadn’t exchanged notes about such behaviour with other civil servants, he added that “the fact that there is an atmosphere of discrimination against the Muslims cannot be denied”.
“The fact that you do not have a single MP. No ticket is given to a Muslim for (becoming an) MP or an MLA. This is not a small thing. So this means it is almost a state policy to keep the Muslims out, which is a very sad situation for a great country and a secular country, which India is,” Quraishi added.
‘Wishful thinking’
Quraishi said that while there hasn’t been any dramatic change on the ground after their interactions with RSS leaders, he believes in “wishful thinking”.
He says he presented a copy of his book, The Population Myth, to Bhagwat during the meeting, explaining to him that Muslim population growth, though high, is falling rapidly, and Muslims have the lowest rate of polygamy in India.
Quraishi recalls that when he told Bhagwat that with 940 women per 1,000 men, 60 men don’t even have one wife, the latter had a “hearty laugh”.
“Some of our critics say, you got impressed by laughter, but his hearty laughter indicated that he followed the point. And my wishful thinking is that within a month and a half later, when he gave his Vijayadashami lecture, he did not make this allegation that Muslims are multiplying and producing children,” Quraishi told ThePrint.
“He did refer to the Partition 70 years ago, but at least he toned it down. I think this is perhaps the kind of impact that a mutual discussion and dialogue result in,” he added.
Quraishi acknowledged that critics still point out that demolitions and lynchings are continuing on the ground. “But if you notice, the lynching, which used to happen once a week, is now happening once a year. So there is a decline in that.”
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)