Advani's compulsion in stating that India will never become a Hindu Rashtra has not found good favor with members of his family, Sangh Parivar. VHP's Singhal reminded Mr. Advani about the prayer which they have been singing in the Shakha(RSS training school)," By God I swear that I shall do my best sacrifice my all-to preserve and promote the cause of Hindu Dharma, Hindu Rashtra and Hindu Sanskriti" (From the prayer of RSS). At the same time Bajarang Dal's Prakash Sharma reaffirmed that India was always a Hindu Rashtra and will always remain so. Advani also got the taste of his own medicine as some from Sangh stable called him a pseudo secular, trying to appease minorities. Mr. Bal Thackeray the self proclaimed Hindu Hriday Samtrat, (Emperor of Hindu Hearts) went to the extent of saying that Mr. Advani has stabbed the Hindus in the back. Temporarily it sounds as if all is in disarray as for as the followers of the concept of Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation) is concerned.
 
As for as the terms, Hindu Rashtra, Hindutva and pseudo secular are concerned it was none other than Mr. Advani who had popularized them. Today due to compulsions of his responsibility and the calculations for future of his party in the electoral arena, he has to be guarded. It does not mean by any stretch of imagination that Mr. Advani is giving up the very plank, which has brought his party to power. It is part of multi speak, to speak what suits a particular occasion and time. Than is it that Singhal etc.s worry, that their family member is drifting from the path, which they together as a Sangh Parivar are to follow, has some truth? That seems unlikely, as they all know each other too well. They all know as to why Vajpayee and Advani have to put Parliamentary face at the moment as the politics of Hindu Rashtra cannot grab power in a single go. They are aware that they have to keep infiltrating the system slowly. They are aware that at every instance the circle of influence is to be expanded. Vajpayee summed it very well when he said that Togadia is only doing his job while trying to defy the ban on Padpadshahi Yatra by Election Commission. Then, why they make such public outburst against each other?
 
The reasons are not too far to seek. At present the RSS progenies are doing a balancing act. Through their different organizations, different faces, they want to give multiple messages suitable to each section of society. So, while Advani or Vajpayee will address the democratically oriented section, The Singhals and Togadias will be trying to keep the flock of different section in the fold of Hindutva politics.
 
BJP is nothing if it is not taking the Nation towards Hindu Rashtra, the Religious Fascism in the garb of Hinduism. The tragedy is that the name of Hindu religion is being dragged for political goals of section of society. This section of society is the one entrenched in the power, social and economic. This is the politics of the elite, upper caste and section of affluent middle class, which is hell-bent to oppose the social transformation towards the gender and caste equality. As India is a plural society electoral victory for the self-proclaimed representatives of Hindus has not and probably will never come through the ballot box. To overcome this there are George Fernanades, Mamatas, Jayalalitas and what have you, a cabal, out to seek power by any and all compromises, and not hesitating to prostrate in front of BJP. It can be said in general that parties of fascism, religious fascism, cannot come to power in a democratic way, be it the Hitlers of yesteryears, or Talibans in more recent times.

RSS since its formation in 1925 has been creating Swaymsevaks, the ones seeped in the ideology of Hindtva (Not Hinduism). Hindutva is the Religious fascism based on Brahminical Hinduism, the polar opposite of politics and religion of Mahatma Gandhi for example. Just to recall Gandhi was a Sanatani Hindu but he did not want a Hindu Rashtra, he was deeply committed to secular India. In contrast whatever be the level of religiosity of these swaymsevaks they want to doctor and manipulate the Indian culture, Indian society in a way which has nothing to do with the democratic values. In a way their agenda is to convert India in to the mirror image of Pakistan, where three A's, (Allah through Mullahs, America through its Ambassador and Army through a General, rules the country. These swayamsevaks in turn control most of the organizations, which are collectively called Sangh Parivar. (BJP, VHP, Bajarang Dal, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram and host of others) There is no question that any of them will genuinely not believe in Hindutva, Hindu Rashtra and all that deeply opposed to Indian Constitution. Mr. Sudarshan, the RSS supremo, stated soon after taking over as the supremo that Indian Constitution needs to be replaced by the one based on Hindu holy books. He dictated that Indian constitution should be done away with and the one based on Indian holy books (read Manusmriti) be brought in. Hindu Rashtra is the undisputed goal of RSS and its progenies. Here the contrast between Mr. Sudarshan and Dr. Ambedkar (burning Manu Smriti and chairing the drafting committee of Indian Constitution) is starkly clear.
 
The usual debate that there are factions in Sangh Parivar, BJP in particular, has to be seen in this light. There is no dispute about the basic goal of Hindu Rashtra, the dispute if any comes at the level of implementation of nitty gritty's of politics. And thats where Singhal Togadia and co. may sound talking on different wavelengths. At core level the unity in the Parivar is too deep to be shaken by one or other statement or step, of one or the other minister, even if it is the Prime minister himself.

As far as their binding glue is intact these superficial differences are in-house squabbles, which do melt away with new agendas and tasks being taken. The strategy of these family members is to slowly transform this society and polity into a authoritarian society and a fascist state. Though this may sound to be alarmist we have to realize that this Indian variant of fascism has a different pace. It is slow in its permeation of the available social and political spaces mainly because the democratic foundations laid by freedom struggle and Indian constitution are very strong. To erode these without inviting adverse reaction is the strategy of the group whose two extremes in today's parlance may be Advani-Vajpayee on one side and Singhal-Togadia-Modi on the other. Rest of them lie in between these two extremes. Famous poet Javed Akhtar once gave a brilliant analogy about the subtle way of march of India's fascism. He pointed that when a frog is put in the boiling water it will try to jump out but if it is kept in the cozy temperature to begin with and then slowly the temperature is raised it may initially get accustomed to the hot water and with the temperature going to boiling one, it will get decimated without becoming aware of its impending death. Unfortunately the frog in this analogy is Indian democracy, which in real sense has been put in the water of Hidnutva and slowly the temperature is being raise by the spectrum, whose two poles are Advani and Togadia.
(Writer works for EKTA, Committee for Communal Harmony, Mumbai)