Rahul Gandhi was angry — controlled 'fury'. The other day, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat had broken cover and said that India gained ‘Freedom’ not on August 15, 1947, but on January 11 (in the Panchang, January 22), 2024 — the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi did the 'Pran-Pratistha' of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.

Bhagwat called the day “Pratishtha Dwadashi” and, according to him, it was “true Independence” of India, which had been under relentless enemy attack for centuries.

So, henceforth, whoever is asked, "Who created God?" can point a finger at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is a trick question, which left everybody perplexed before the consecration of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir.

Not anymore. For the Sangh Parivar, it wasn't the British quitting India which ranked as 'Independence Day', but someday else completely divorced from what history books spoke about.

The impression that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh never took exception to accusations is telling — that it didn't take part in the Freedom Movement was never corrected by this so-called "paramilitary."

The RSS was waging another freedom struggle for "India that is Bharat", to declare 'Freedom', which happened to come with the 'Pran Pratistha' of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, a 500 year wait culminating after half-a millennium of relentless struggle with the establishment of Ram Rajya, something which nobody had dreamt about.

So, why shouldn't Rahul Gandhi lambast Mohan Bhagwat, question the RSS Chief's version of "Independence"? Rahul Gandhi displayed wisdom when he said "any other country" and Bhagwat would have been behind bars for the "audacity".

He knew Mohan Bhagwat can't be/won't be punished for his audacity in a BJP-controlled 'Indian State'. Something which the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha pointed out at the inauguration of the new Congress headquarters, named 'Indira Bhavan' after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi d/o Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, one of several Congress leaders who were part of the Freedom Struggle, which culminated with the transfer of power on August 15, 1947.

The ball is now in the Modi Government's court — did India gain freedom on August 15, 1947, when the British finally called it quits; or, should we take Mohan Bhagwat on his word and declare that India gained freedom when Lord Ram was given his abode on January 11, 2023, with the Pran Pratistha of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir?

It is for Prime Minister Modi to clear the air. The question needs clarification. History has to be left alone or reset. There cannot be two independence days and two freedom struggles. Also, separate sets of freedom-fighters with no interaction between the two. Did the RSS not want the British to Quit India, till it waged its own freedom struggle, for whatever objective?

The British haven't been helpful, never once trying to set the record straight. It is for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step up. PM Modi has spoken from the ramparts of the Red Fort 10 straight times, declaring every time that 'Pandra August' brought with it a breath of fresh air. He can't now just up and hide in Bhagwat's cave.

After Bhagwat's explosive discovery, Modi has no business continuing as if it was business as usual. Bhagwat not only had the "audacity" but is also guilty of rewriting history. Tweaking history is a capital crime. It is confusing. It confuses children. RSS runs hundreds of schools. Weren't children of RSS-run schools taught that August 15, 1947 was Independence Day?

Rahul Gandhi should make more visits to Vietnam. The RSS cannot run away with dates. Mohan Bhagwat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were both taught that India gained freedom on August 15, 1947. Today, they're singing a different anthem. If this doesn't get the goats of 1.40 billion Indians, what will?

Was the change of 'Independence Day' planned to take place just when the Congress planned to inaugurate its brand new party headquarters? Who was cocking a snook at whom? The Congress-BJP standoff has reached a point of no return. The mutual hostility threatens to engulf everybody who comes in the way of the warring two.

Battlelines are drawn. Rahul Gandhi says the "BJP and the RSS had captured every single institution" while accusing Bhagwat of committing "treason." Rahul spoke from his party's new headquarters: "It is quite symbolic...the RSS Chief said India never achieved Independence in 1947... this building is not an ordinary building. It emerged as a result of the hard work and sacrifice of millions of people, and not just sacrifice prior to the freedom movement but (all) sacrifice until today.” With that Rahul Gandhi reminded Congress workers of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, both of whom were assassinated.

"People who are in power today do not salute the tricolour, do not believe in the national flag, do not believe in the Constitution and they have a completely different vision of India that we do. They want India to be run by a shady, hidden, secret society. They want India to be run by one man, and they want to crush the voice of the Dalits, the voice of the minorities, the voice of the backward castes, and the tribals. This is their agenda.”

Rahul Gandhi went for the jugular, saying his fight was not only with the "BJP and the RSS", but also with the "Indian State", a statement which has opened the floodgates of threatening noises against him, everybody with a Modi connection has been attacking Rahul Gandhi for committing the mortal sin of "waging war with the Indian State", which is "no less than Sedition", how can a constitutional post like the 'LoP' wage war against the State?

The answer can be found in Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave', it's got to do with "belief versus knowledge", what is inside the cave and what lies outside the cave? An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. What is Rahul Gandhi's allegory with the RSS, BJP and the 'Indian State'? (IPA Service)