By Scroll Staff
The Constitutional Conduct Group, a group of former civil servants, on Friday urged the Centre to withdraw its order lifting a 58-year-old ban on government employees being members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
In a letter, the group said that the enforcement of the order would cause “enormous detriment” to the soul of the Constitution. The ban was lifted by the Centre on July 9.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindutva group, is the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party. It has been banned three times since Independence. Critics say it promotes Hindu supremacy and intolerance of minorities.
The Sangh was placed on the list of organisations government officials could not be associated with in November 1966.
On Friday, the Constitutional Conduct Group said that caste, religion and gender continued to be critical fractures in Indian society. “We feel a deep disquiet about this government order that allows government servants, who are tasked with defending secular democracy and minority rights, to openly declare their allegiance to an organisation that is ideologically opposed to both of these,” it said.
The paramount duty of civil administrators and the police is to defend and uphold the Constitution, the group said. “This includes, centrally, the protection of the Constitutional rights – including of life, liberty and worship – of religious and caste minorities.”
The letter said that civil servants should, at all times, demonstrate their humanism, impartiality and adherence to the values enshrined in the Constitution of India.
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