Was it the black flags waved at BJP president Amit Shah when he arrived in Goa to address a meeting at the Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Stadium? Was it the decision of the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM) to form a political party to contest the next Assembly elections? Was it the stand to defeat the BJP government in the State? All of these issues definitely contributed to the ouster of Subhash Velingkar as State chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), but this is not the whole story.
The issue of contention is the medium of instruction and it needs to be said that on this issue, Velingkar and the RSS are on the same page. The difference is in approach and this is where the former State chief misread the writing on the wall. The Sangh has evolved under the leadership of Mohan Bhagwat. From 40K shakas in 2010, it has grown to 57K in 2015. But the most significant change, missed by Velingkar, came in 2013 when the RSS issued two decrees to give Narendra Modi a double promotion, first as head of the campaign committee in June and then as prime ministerial candidate in September. This clearly announced the direct involvement of the RSS in the BJP. Hitherto, the RSS remained as a silent ‘minder’. It eschewed direct political involvement, but allowed deputation of senior leaders to the BJP. Today Bhagwat and Modi are on the same page on every issue. This came about after the RSS internally decided that the only way to transform the nation was through top-bottom model by gaining political power at the Centre and state. This forced the RSS to change and evolve in order to keep abreast with political changes in the nation. Also, Modi was successful in convincing the RSS to move forward strategically with an inclusive, non-controversial agenda. While Velingkar was in tune with the ideals of the RSS, his stand was not in sync with the strategic aims of the RSS-BJP.
Even on the issue of English, the RSS has progressed from its Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan and has embraced English which has been introduced in its Saraswati Mandir schools. In that sense Velingkar and his BBMS friends are totally out of sync with the parent organization as well as present times.
For Velingkar and leaders of the RSS who were actively involved in the BBSM, it was a matter of time before the organization cracked down on them. No organization can permit its State chief to work against its interests and by extension that would also mean the interests of the BJP and Velingkar should have realized this before walking on the path of confrontation.
