Any hint that its mentor is unhappy would have been disastrous at a time when the government’s “prudent gradualism”, to quote the economist Jagdish Bhagwati, was reminiscent of saffron fellow-traveller Arun Shourie’s description of the BJP as a “kati patang” or a floating kite.

In a way, the endorsement by the Nagpur patriarchs is the first of its kind for the prime minister, considering that a former RSS sarsanghchalak, K.S. Sudarshan, had advised Atal Bihari Vajpayee to retire. If Modi has fared better in the estimation of the RSS, the reason is not so much his reputation as a hardliner vis-à-vis Vajpayee’s moderation as the possibility that the RSS – the BJP’s “mother”, according to parliamentary affairs minister, Venkaiah Naidu - has toned down its expectations from the Modi government.

When Vajpayee was the prime minister, the saffron brotherhood was constantly pushing him on the matter of building the Ram temple. Artisans had gathered at a spot not far from Ayodhya to start polishing, cutting and putting together marbles and stones for the new temple.

A Canadian team was asked to carry out a radar survey underneath the current makeshift temple to find out whether there was an ancient structure there. The survey, carried out with powerful 100 MHz antennae did find “ancient and contemporaneous structures”, but noted that their “exact nature” was yet to be determined. Evidently, the survey was only a ploy to keep the RSS at bay.

But, not only did the Vajpayee government’s strenuous efforts lead nowhere, they also had to be called off as the BJP lost power. It is unlikely, however, that now that the party has regained power, the artisans will be asked to resume their work or the Canadian surveyors will be called back because the entire atmosphere has changed in the last 10 years.

The present focus of the Modi government is on the “big changes” which were promised by the prime minister in his 15-minute speech at the recent RSS-BJP conclave in New Delhi. The temple is no longer a top-priority item on the Hindutva agenda. Indeed, Vajpayee can be said to have had the last laugh because his suggestion that the Sangh parivar should put the three issues of the temple, Article 370 and uniform civil code on the back burner has passed the test of time.

He made the suggestion after the failure of a 13-day attempt to form a government in 1996 when none of the “secular” parties joined him. It was only after the three issues were put in cold storage that he was able to form a 24-party ruling alliance in 1998, which lasted till the 2002 Gujarat riots pulled the rug from under its feet two years later, as Vajpayee later ruefully said. But for the riots, he may have survived.

What is noteworthy, however, is that a decade later, the RSS has chosen to beat a retreat even though a BJP government is again in power. It has to remain satisfied now with tidbits like a ban on beef in Maharashtra, on eggs in midday meals in Madhya Pradesh, the renaming of Aurangzeb Road in Delhi and the planting of its apparatchiki in institutions like the Indian Council of Historical Research, the National Book Trust, the film and television institute and others.

What is more, it is not known what the “changes” promised by the prime minister entail. If they relate to the economic reforms in the shape of smart cities and bullet trains, then the “cultural” organization of Nagpur will not be too pleased since the sense of wellness fostered by an economic upswing can undermine the divisive impulses of caste and religious communities.

As it is, the affiliates of the RSS have had to put on hold their plans for stopping “love jehad” involving Muslim boys and Hindu girls, and the promotion of ghar wapsi campaigns to reconvert Muslims to Hinduism. As the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, once said, bhule bhatke jo bhai gaye hain, unko wapas layenge (we’ll bring back those brothers who mistakenly left), including those who were lured away (lalach de kar le gaye).

Virtually the entire game plan of the RSS, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal to peddle their conflict-ridden agenda has evidently had to be shelved for the time being, presumably because Modi is serious about a 10-year moratorium on sectarian animosity about which he spoke at his first Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

It is unlikely, therefore, that any reference was made to love jehad or ghar wapsi during the conclave but, strangely, what was said related to foreign policy because the RSS apparently wanted the government to treat the neighbouring countries as parts of a “whole body”, which means that it is in favour of friendly relations with Pakistan even after the fiasco of the NSA-level talks.

But, it is possible that these ideas are not about the present foreign policy at all, for the talk about a “whole body” is redolent of the saffron brotherhood’s longstanding Akhand Bharat dream. (IPA Service)