India is constitutionally a secular state, and how can government personnel be allowed participating in Hindu Rashtra activities, and still the governance remain secular! One can just imagine the impending perils, at a time when government employees have been running bulldozers over houses of minorities on the orders of political establishments led by the BJP, which is called bulldozer justice. BJP is part of the RSS clan, which has already been vigorously pursuing Hindutva politics, far away from the secular politics. How can one imagine a RSS man in government will not bend the secular governance to the Hindutva mode of governance?

To understand the implication of Centre’s notification of July 9, we must remember the reason why RSS was banned in the fist place. Further, why the Centre kept the ban intact on government employees in participating in the activities of the RSS and Jamat-e-Islami. Both the RSS and Jamat-e-Islami are engaged in similar activities which were considered inappropriate as far as participation governance is concerned, and hence the government employees were barred to participate in their activities.

Lifting the ban on government employees participating in RSS activities and not lifting the similar ban on participating in the activities of Jamat-e-Islami can be understood more clearly by PM Narendra Modi’s expression of “Secular Civil Code” in place of “Uniform Civil Code” during his last independence-day speech. Secular means “non-religious”, and hence secular laws do not interfere with religion and culture. However, the purpose of “Secular Civil Code” is to interfere with religious and cultural codes of the minorities, and hence his using the word “secular” is a contradiction of the very concept of the term.

Real motif of the Modi government is thus clear – they want laws to interfere with minority rights provided by the Constitution of India, and they also want the RSS men in the government to implement them. The latest order of lifting ban on government employee to participate in RSS activities is part of the larger dream of installing the Hindu Rashtra in place of the Secular Nation that constitutionally we have.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the PM Narendra Modi has said that previous order had become “irrelevant”, and therefore “unjustified”. It should also be noted several BJP ruled states have already removed the bar on government employees to participate in the RSS activities.

India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and the Minter of Home Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had given the reason for banning RSS on February 4, 1948. He said that the decision to ban RSS was taken to “root out the forces of hate and violence that are at work in our country and imperil the freedom of the nation and darken her fair name.”

It was in 1966, the Centre barred government employees from participating in activities of RSS and Jamat-e-Islami. “Government have always held the activities of these two organisations to be of such nature that participation in them by Government servants would attract the provisions of sub-rule (1) of Rule 5” of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, the circular issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs read.. Further, it pointed out “Any government servant, who is a member of or otherwise associated with the aforesaid organisations or with their activities, is liable to disciplinary action.” There is also a similar Rule 5 (1) in All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 applicable to IAS, IPS, and IFS.

Similar orders were passed in 1970, and 1980. The 1980 circular even underlined “the need to ensure a secular outlook on the part of the Government servants” while stressing on “the need to eradicate communal feelings and communal bias cannot be over-emphasised.” More importantly the circular read, “No notice should be taken by Government and its officers, local bodies, state-aided institutions of petitions or representations on communal basis, and no patronage whatsoever should be extended to any communal organisation… Any disregard of these instructions should be considered as a serious act of indiscipline and suitable action initiated against the erring employees.”

BJP came to power under the premiership of Atal Behari Vajpayee for 13 days in 1996, then 13 months during 1998-99, and a full term during 1999-2004, the secular nature of the governance and government servants were by and large maintained during those years. There was no planned move to run the governance on RSS lines. Even during the first 10 years of Modi rule from May 2014 to July 9, 2024, when the ban was ultimately lifted, the government employees were not allowed to participate in the RSS activities.

However, DoPT direct under PM Modi has said on July 9 that the government has “reviewed” instruction issued in 1966, 1970, and 1980 “and it has been decided to remove the mention of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from the impugned OMs (official memorandus) dated 30.11.1966, 25.07.1970 and 28.10.1980”.

The claim of the RSS to be a non-political organisation is false since it has a political dream of making India a Hindu Rashtra, and the ruling BJP is the political extension of RSS, to realise this dream. Allowing personnel in government service participating in any political and communal activity is dangerous for a stable democratic and secular administration, since it may impact the functioning of all departments including those that enforce the laws, ensure justice and conduct elections. India is now on a perilous path. (IPA Service)