The differences between the Congress and the RSS are decades old.
Chiranjeev Rajeev, if Ramayana is not screened in India, will it be screened in New York? Amid difficulties in getting approval to telecast Ramayana on Doordarshan, Bhau Rao Deoras, brother of Sangh chief Bala Saheb Deoras, sent this letter to Rajiv Gandhi. Congress leader HKL Bhagat, who later became Information and Broadcasting Minister, opposed this broadcast. He felt that this would strengthen Hindu organizations like Sangh and VHP. In future they will create problems through Ramjanmabhoomi movement. But Rajiv Gandhi ignored the objections and allowed the broadcast of the Ramayana.
Between January 25, 1987 and July 31, 1988, it was viewed by approximately sixty-five million people. The roads used to remain deserted during the broadcast of Ramayana on Sunday morning. Home Minister Buta Singh had to postpone a meeting of his ministry because it was the time of the Ramayana broadcast.
Rahul continuously attacks Sangh.
A recent comment by Sangh chief Dattatreya Hosabale has once again heated up the discussion on the relationship between the Sangh and the Gandhi family. The pages of history related to this are being turned. Hosabale had said that the Sangh wants to meet everyone. Even from Congress. But those who run the store of love don’t want to know us. Obviously, without mentioning his name, his sarcasm was directed at Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi’s hatred towards the Sangh is to such an extent that he has said that even if his throat could be cut, he would still be a member of RS I can’t go to SK office. Rahul had made this statement during his visit to India on January 18, 2023, when the issue of his cousin Varun Gandhi joining the Congress was raised. This is not the only time Rahul has been continuously aggressive towards the Sangh and its ideology.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi
The Nehru-Gandhi family’s long history of estrangement from the Sangh
However, Rahul does not say anything new about Sangh. His family has a long history of disagreements and opposition to the Sangh. Pandit Nehru never believed in the Sangh. After Gandhi’s assassination, the first ban was imposed on the Sangh during his tenure. This was repeated even during the Emergency during Indira Gandhi’s government. During the second ban, Bala Saheb Deoras first attempted to soften his attitude towards the Sangh by writing letters to Indira Gandhi on August 22, 1975 and again on November 10, 1975. But Indira Gandhi ignored both letters. During that time, the Sangh had also made efforts through Vinoba Bhave.
Bala Saheb Thackeray was also among those who advocated for the Sangh. Of course, Indira ignored the Sangh’s efforts at that time, but after the 1977 elections were announced, she contacted the Sangh. Journalist Neerja Chaudhary’s famous book, How Prime Ministers Decide, quotes KN Govindacharya as stating that Indira Gandhi’s message had reached the imprisoned Balasaheb Deoras that the Sangh should stay away from elections and the Janata Party did not join. The brother-in-law replied that it was too late. Now it will not be possible to abandon the Janata Party midway. With the answer that we will talk after the elections, Devras left the room open for the future.
Indira Gandhi
Indira tried to use the Sangh from a distance.
Indira returned to power in 1980. Did Indira’s attitude towards the Sangh begin to change in the second innings? Neerja Chaudhary gives similar indications in How Prime Ministers Decide. According to Neerja, although Indira did not directly meet any Sangh leader, although she stayed away from them, she sometimes contacted the Sangh through messengers. If the Sangh tried to get close to Indira, then Indira also tried to use the Sangh despite looking the other way. Amid Muslim discontent with the Congress, Indira wanted to deepen the color of Hindutva. The silent support or even neutrality of the Sangh in this work was beneficial to them politically.
During a visit to Kanyakumari, he met Eknath Ranade, a senior Sangh preacher and founder of the Vivekananda Memorial. She was very impressed by his work. There was also more contact with him. During an emergency when PC Sethi and Vidyacharan Shukla RS tried to attack Ranade in the name of SK funding, Indira Gandhi not only stopped him but somehow rewarded Ranade by appointing him as a member of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. According to Govindacharya, this communication link used to reach Balasaheb Deoras through Moropant Pingle beyond Ranade. Even Indira Gandhi kept in touch with Sarvodaya leader Ramakant Patil, who had deep connections with the Sangh.
Rajiv and Bhaurao’s meeting at Indira’s request
Of course, Indira Gandhi avoided meeting any Sangh leaders directly. But Rajiv Gandhi met Bhau Rao Deoras at least four times. Bhau Rao was the brother of the then Sarsanghchalak Bala Saheb Deoras and kept an eye on the work of the BJP on behalf of the Sangh.
Between 1982 and 1984, three meetings took place during Indira Gandhi’s lifetime. It is believed that Rajiv met Bhau Rao only at the insistence of Indira ji. Not even Arun Nehru was aware of these meetings which were kept very confidential. The point of contact between the two was Kapil Mohan, a businessman close to the Gandhi family. He also had old relations with Bhau Rao. The first meeting took place in September 1982 at Kapil Mohan’s bungalow at 46 Pusa Road. There they also met for the second time. For the third time, they sat together at the residence of another close relative, Anil Bali, in Friends Colony.
Anil Bali also accompanied Rajiv Gandhi on all these occasions. It was Anil Bali’s responsibility to monitor the talks between the two and the activities related to them at the Sangh headquarters in Jhandewalan. RKDhawan also stayed away from this development. Anil Bali used to reach Indira ji’s residence at 7.45 in the morning and give her related information. Before Dhawan came there, Bali used to return from there at 8.15. Neerja Chaudhary has written quoting Makhan Lal Fotedar that once Indira ji had told her to tell Rajiv not to mention the talks with the Sangh in front of Sonia at the dining table, because Sonia is very much against the Sangh.
Rajiv Gandhi with his mother Indira and brother Sanjay. Photo: Hulton-Deutsch/Corbis Collection via Getty Images
Bhaurao and Rajiv were influenced by each other
The meeting between Rajiv and Bhau was very cordial. According to Anil Bali, Bhau felt that Hindutva would be safe under Rajiv. According to Govindacharya, Bhau Rao returned to the Sangh headquarters after his first meeting with Rajiv and was very happy. He said it was as pleasant as meeting Jayaprakash Narayan while he was living underground. Banwari Lal Purohit, who was a Congress MP in 1984 and 1989 and governor of Tamil Nadu and Punjab after joining the BJP, claims he witnessed Rajiv Gandhi touching Bhau Rao’s feet. Although Rajiv Gandhi did not meet Bhau Rao after becoming Prime Minister, they remained in touch.
According to Pankaj Bohra, Rajiv had gifted a chocolate-coloured Contessa car to Bhaurao when he was Prime Minister. The last meeting of both was in 1991 at number 10 Janpath. Rajiv was not in power then. According to Anil Bali, Bhau Rao, worried about Rajiv Gandhi, who was caught in the Bofors crisis, had sent a message through him in early 1989 to hold early elections. Elections would be held at the end of the year and the opposition had not been united at that time. But Rajiv IB According to the report, they were confident of getting 300 seats.
Banwari Lal Purohit even claims that there was an agreement between Rajiv and Sangh for the foundation stone of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. In support of his claim, he says that as a representative of the Congress, he introduced Bala Saheb Deoras and Rajiv Gandhi’s special representative Bhanu Prakash Singh. Immediately after this, this agreement was sealed in the meeting of Buta Singh and Devras.
Read also: What is the onion bomb? 1 dead, 6 injured in explosion in Andhra Pradesh
