2 weeks Ago
With one soul-stirring journey, PM Narendra Modi has lit a quiet lantern, blending Ambedkar’s azure dreams with the RSS’s saffron glow. Picture two rivers carving through India’s heartland — Dr BR Ambedkar’s fierce torrent of justice and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) steady stream of unity. Ambedkar, an intrepid and unconventional nationalist, roared against the decayed caste system, his words echoing and piercing across generations.
Then there’s the RSS, which emerged from Nagpur’s nurturing cradle in 1925 and patiently sewed together a vibrant patchwork of Hindu kinship. For decades, people reckoned these two couldn’t share a meal — one toppling ancient stones, the other laying bricks for a collective hearth. But alongside him strides Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and with one soul-stirring journey, he’s lit a quiet lantern, blending Ambedkar’s azure dreams with the RSS’s saffron glow.
This, dear readers, is the ever-growing and adapting New India. PM Modi ambled into Deekshabhoomi, where Dr Ambedkar stepped into Buddhism’s fold in 1956, a bold leap toward dignity beyond caste’s jagged grip. Then, he paid homage at RSS founder KB Hedgewar’s resting place.
They’ve seemed like fire and water before — one breaking chains with a vengeance, the other binding hearts with care. But squint through the haze, and there’s Modi’s wizardry: a vision where these two don’t tussle but sit shoulder-to-shoulder, trading tales over steaming tea, hands linked, not dangling in some awkward standoff. The visuals, I tell you, have been etched in the history where Modi threaded Ambedkar’s battle for the downtrodden with the RSS’s passion for a united Bharat.
Rewind the clock a bit. Let’s take a moment to reflect on Ambedkar’s impact. Ambedkar was a storm, no doubt — sweeping away caste’s cobwebs with a broom of intellect.
“I was born a Hindu, but I will not die one," he declared, shepherding millions to Buddhism’s welcoming shade. And here’s the gem — he chose an Indic path, not some foreign faith or Semitic cult like Islam, hungry to convert souls door-to-door. In Buddha and His Dhamma, he mused, “I want a religion that teaches liberty, equality, and fraternity" (Ambedkar, 1957) — a nod to Buddha’s gentle creed, born of this soil.
US-born Dalit scholar Gail Omvedt, in Buddhism in India, writes that Ambedkar saw it as “a rational, indigenous alternative to Hinduism’s flaws" (Omvedt, 2003), sidestepping Abrahamic lures. The RSS, too, chants an Indic refrain — Hindu pride, yes, but often misread by those quick to judge. Some slap a “Brahminical" tag, but peek beneath: they’ve cheered Dalit priests, shunned untouchability, and tried — however imperfectly — to widen the family circle.
They are not impeccably clean, nor are they a snarling tyrant, but rather a steadfast elder who is both fumbling and full of heart. Now, here’s the thread Modi’s spinning into gold: both Ambedkar and the RSS are torchbearers of our Indic essence — our shared legacy, culture, and civilisation that stood like a rock against the blood-drenched horrors of foreign invaders bent on crushing us. Ambedkar’s Buddhism wasn’t a farewell to Bharat’s spirit but an exposition to the idea that Bharat was; the RSS’s unity song echoes that same ancient resilience — think Mughal swords clashing against our roots or colonial boots trampling our pride.
Modi skillfully incorporated this overlap into his grand plan, envisioning a Bharat that not only endures these challenging times but also rises to prominence on its own. He’s leveraging this bond, which is entirely reasonable. Invaders couldn’t silence the pulse of defiance and dignity that ties these giants together.
Modi steps forward — nursed on RSS melodies of “unity" and “harmony." He dreams of a Bharat where every voice chimes, a tune plucked from those early mornings of discipline and devotion. Yet Ambedkar’s shadow trails him — think of the Uniform Civil Code, Babasaheb’s old hope, or Ujjwala Yojana, kindling fires in homes long dimmed by neglect.
Modi’s not just waving the RSS standard; he’s pairing it with Ambedkar’s light, proving you can cherish your origins and lift the fallen in one sweeping breath. That Nagpur sojourn? A soft whisper: “See, these two can rest on the same bench, no fuss." Of course, history is filled with complexities.
Ambedkar once called Hindu Raj a “calamity," and the RSS didn’t always cheer his Hindu Code Bill with drumrolls. But with the perceived Uniform Civil Code facing us, time will reconcile a convergence of the two. They’ve had their spats, like siblings squabbling over the last piece of cake.
But Modi’s not rifling through dusty journals; he’s painting a fresh mural. By saluting both, he’s nudging the RSS to cast its unity beam along Ambedkar’s justice path — a future where the RSS’s familial warmth and Ambedkar’s fairness charter clasp hands, not fists. This is New India’s rhythm — sweeter than old quarrels.
We’ve been caught in this push-and-pull—secular versus saffron, caste versus oneness, Ambedkar versus RSS—like a record stuck on a mournful note. Modi’s flipped the script, asking, “Why pick a side?" He’s fusing the RSS’s gentle cradle with Ambedkar’s wise counsel, crafting a Bharat less about yesterday’s shadows and more about tomorrow’s shimmer. So here we linger, peering at this new sunrise.
Can Ambedkar’s blaze and the RSS’s radiance share one lantern? Modi, with his RSS homeland and Ambedkar-lit heart, says yes. In this New India, Deekshabhoomi and Hedgewar’s shakhas might just swap stories over a warm brew, washing old grime with a downpour of hope. The confluence of the two outstanding doctors — Dr Hedgewar and Dr Ambedkar — is the harbinger of “Naya Bharat.
" Yuvraj Pokharna is an independent journalist and columnist. He tweets with @iyuvrajpokharna. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author.
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