It is well known that the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, aimed at constructing a temple at the site of Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid, was the most pivotal Hindu majoritarian campaign for capturing the centre stage of Indian politics. It is an equally established fact that the Sangh Parivar launched this campaign only in 1984, when the issue was made the central plank of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The critical turning point of this dispute—the placing of a Ram idol inside the mosque on the night of 22 December 1949—was the handiwork of another section of Hindu communalists, belonging to the Hindu Mahasabha. In fact, it was this act, seen as the first attempt to convert the Babri Masjid into a Hindu religious site, that led to the decades-long legal battle that culminated in the Supreme Court, on 9 November 2019, mandating the construction of a temple at the site of the mosque.
Given the significance of the issue, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh seems to have long desired the stamp of antiquity on its association with the dispute. Until the assassination of Mohandas Gandhi, on 30 January 1948, the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha had acted almost like sister organisations, with overlapping membership being widespread. But, after the assassination, in order to de-hyphenate itself from the assassin, Nathuram Godse, the RSS quickly disassociated from the Hindu Mahasabha, even though they remained in the same ideological space. The Sangh’s move emanated from Godse’s claim, during his trial, that he had left the RSS and joined the Hindu Mahasabha long before he killed Gandhi. To give credence to Godse’s lie and cover its tracks, the RSS fabricated history to push the false notion that it had existed in total separation from the Hindu Mahasabha since the 1930s.
This story was originally published in caravanmagazine.in. Read the full story here .
