India’s current government is led by the Bharatiya Janta Party or the BJP. It is also the country’s largest national party. It was formed in 1980, though its origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which was founded in 1951. The Jana Sangh was closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization that continues to play a significant role in shaping the BJP’s ideology.
The party first came to power at the center in 1996, but its government lasted only 13 days. It returned to power in 1998, forming a coalition under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. His tenure saw India conducting nuclear tests in 1998, economic reforms, and a focus on infrastructure development. However, the BJP lost power in 2004 to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
The BJP made a historic comeback in 2014 by securing 282 seats out of 543 in the Lok Sabha, with Narendra Modi as India’s prime minister. Major policy changes include the revocation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 that criminalized triple talaq in India.
The government’s handling of several protests and crises has faced widespread scrutiny. The 2020–2021 farmer protests, which were sparked by the controversial farm laws that were later repealed, drew significant public attention, with criticism directed at the use of force and the management of the situation. Similarly, the government’s response to the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests raised concerns over its handling of dissent, particularly the use of force. The BJP’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic also attracted criticism, especially regarding the lack of transparency around the death toll, shortages of medical resources like oxygen cylinders, and inadequate preparedness during the second wave.
Additionally, the ongoing inter-tribe conflict in Manipur, which erupted in 2023, has faced criticism for the government’s perceived failure to take adequate action, with accusations of poor crisis management and insufficient intervention in addressing the escalating violence.
This obsession with the words of RSS heads is meaningless. It is complaint of someone who’s made a Devil’s bargain. The moment RSS – BJP legitimised Yogi Adityanath and gave him the position of CM, the “thought leadership” of Hindutva was handed over to the fringe. This was a conscious choice to ensure power was retained. Now the consequences of the choice are playing out and there’s nothing the words of the RSS will do to make a difference.
Too little, too late. The cat is already out of the bag. India is on its way to becoming a Hindu Pakistan (with somewhat better level of development). The US at least reached the top before becoming polarized along religious and ideological lines. India barely made it out of the starting gate.
Great by bhagawat ji . We don’t need to fight for mandir masjid. We need to focus on economic development
Words of wisdom from an elder statesman that people across the political and ideological spectrum should applaud. 2. The harm a surfeit of religious polarisation will do to social cohesion, making governance itself difficult, as the column argues, is one aspect. The other is the cost this is exacting on economic progress. Not surprisingly, the strongest proponents are from the states like Uttar Pradesh that have the most ground to cover in HDI. 3. It is now for the government to make its stand on the Places of Worship Act, 1991 clear to the Supreme Court. And it is for the SC, irrespective of the government’s stand, to honour the sanctity of the Act which alone serves as the moral and ethical foundation for the Ayodhya verdict.
It all started with the inculcations by RSS using its hydra heads…inculcating an young restless breed of Indians on hate, nationalism and ONEness or uniformity has created monsters on its own without any leader…no one can stop this poisoned minds now and RSS sister concern BJP and other vested interests both nationally and internationally is going to use them to their advantage as and they wish……RSS has made a mistake I believe and now it is seeking amends, but can it be done, it is going to be a tall order…..they should have learned from world history but their narrow mindedness has done the damage…Vishawaguru is going to be a distant dream…
Here comes the fake news peddler couptaji , tryimg to justify street violemce and street veto by jihadis .
If any government is unable to maintain order, in the course of upholding the laws of the land, it can resign and go home.
Street veto jhas no place ina democracy . shame on you couptaji
Hindus will fight for their rights, RSS or no RSS. Ram janmabhoomi agitation was happening before RSS was born.