The RSS and Its 'Liberalism'

The invitation by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to former President Pranab Mukherjee, and the latter’s decision to accept and address the swayamsevaks has given rise to all kinds of conjectures by the media and opinion leaders. There has been speculation about who will benefit from the invitation, the RSS or Mukherjee. However, what is relevant is not who benefits, but the liberal justification that RSS spokespersons have been giving in favour of the invitation.

We also need to foreground the RSS’s claim to liberalism within a broader framework of liberalism itself. This would mean taking into consideration two sets of interrelated aspects that are important to assess the RSS’s efforts to defend the invitation on liberal grounds. The first aspect of the liberal framework is following the protocols of tolerance for a dialogue, democratic procedures, and reaching a positive conclusion through such procedures. The second set relates to sustaining the symbiotic relationship between a public personality and liberal principles.