RSS-BJP Anti-intellectual Bias from Early Days
Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950) was very frank in admitting that the great ailment of India was the "diminution of thought-power," descending to "thought-phobia." If there is some truth in the statement, this aversion to intellectual effort has only been strengthened by the RSS, which systematically fostered it with its anti-intellectual prejudice. Madhav Sadasivrao Golwalkar (1906-1973), popularly known as Guruji in the RSS, who served as the RSS leader from 1940 to 1973, set his organisation on an anti-intellectual course of "mindless activism."

According to Koenraad Elst, when Hedgewar started the RSS, he had purely pragmatic ends in mind. The first thing he had to guard against was British imperial surveillance. He carefully adopted secret-society methods, communicating only orally. There are hardly any written records for historians to base themselves on.

One additional reason was that Hedgewar was overly confident that Hindu society had everything, 'even the best of everything,' including advanced intellectual culture. He felt all it lacked was organisation. When he saw young RSS members reading books or papers, he would interrupt them: "Have you got nothing useful to do for the Sangh?"

Critical Thinking Discouraged from the Beginning
Trained as a biologist, Golwalkar found it hard to accept the values fostered by other disciplines that encourage critical thinking. Further, he shared with many spiritually minded people a fear of the 'questioning mind' of the intellectual, compared with the ready compliance and availability of a devotee.

In fact, Golwalker shared with many activists a distrust of the intellectual's eagerness to look at an issue from various angles, which could delay the speed and effectiveness of action. He little thought that hasty actions could plunge individuals and society as a whole into major disasters. That is what is happening with cow-defence forces in the streets and the hasty passing of budget proposals, 'delimitation' bills, and education-related norms in the Parliament.

Golwalker was particularly fearful of socialist thought and ideologies concerned with uplifting the masses and raising their awareness of their real conditions. He was conscious that intellectuals taught the less privileged about their rights and the long-term consequences of partisan decisions. Hence, the rhetorical question of many RSS people has been: "What good was ever done by intellectuals?" Hence, when Golwalker took over in 1940, he passed an unshakable resolution: discursive 'thinking was to be shunned' by the true RSS activist. Hindutva ideology is all that counts.

Urban Naxals, Dimagi Naxals
No wonder intellectuals increasingly horrify the Hindutva brigade, which is committed to thoughtless action. The Prime Minister's comment on 'Dimagi Naxals' has only aggravated the situation. Problems don't get solved in Kashmir, Manipur, Central India or Odisha through a Hindutva formula. You move from one "quick-solution" blunder to another. Tribals (Maoists or not) are determined to defend their mineral assets in Jharkhand, Odisha or Chhattisgarh. Nagas and Mizos are extremely sensitive about their culture and identity; they refuse to sing the Vande Mataram and are strongly critical of the FCRA proposals.

Intellectuals are growing eloquent in exposing the RSS-BJP's directionless initiatives in every field. The Editors Guild of India condemned the calling of critics of the Government "Dimagi Naxals." Lumpenism must go, they say. People like Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor have been growing extremely vocal. CJP team followed up their criticisms with action in Rajasthan in a "School thik Karo" campaign. Many schools are in abominable conditions. In Maharashtra, even worse. In other parts of India, worse still. HG Wells used to say, "Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."

While the CJP initiatives were peaceful, the attacks on them have been violent, e.g. the ABVP attack on the campus of Jadavpur University. People are crying for "ABVP se Azaadi."

Thoughtlessness Leads to Violence in Diverse Fields
There is an interesting tradition in Buñol, Spain, where people celebrate what they call "La Tomatina," a festival of "food fight." People throw tomatoes at each other! Once a local tradition, it has now grown into a national event and gradually become an international celebration. Over 20,000 took part in the event this year; some 40% were tourists.

Now, moving on to situations of actual conflict, we realise the importance of intellectual leadership, balance, proportion and moral responsibility even in military undertakings. A reckless person in authority can inflict irreversible damage on a nation or many nations. Whether Trump and Putin have done so, placing their young men in the forefront on the battlefield to satisfy their egos, is for the world to judge. Meanwhile, schools and hospitals are being bombed; civilians are killed in huge numbers. National budgets swell with arms purchases. Taiwan's president pushes forward a $6.6 billion military drone bill.

Violence takes on ugly shapes. An Israeli minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has publicly advocated the killing of 30-40 people in Gaza every night. He has become immensely popular among his supporters. We have also heard of incidents like a student killing 7 others at a High School in Bangkok. Similar events were reported in Vienna schools and in other European cities. In the US, it recurs continuously. Trump has admiring imitators among the young.

Insensitive Violence in Other Areas
Xi takes violence into another field. He has disciplined or dismissed 7 million party members between 2012 and 2025 as part of his "anti-corruption" drive. His generals are sacked one after the other. Someone will have to pay heavily for such thoughtless actions one day.

No less violent is the SIR deletion of voters' names in India with the least sensitivity. Recent SIR deletions in Karnataka and Telangana have been found totally 'aggressive' and arbitrary: one-fifth culled, declared absent or shifted. Are such elections valid? We have no right to blame Mamata for questioning the Bengal elections. Nor those of Assam. Over 1.5 crore names are off the poll rolls in SIR in 16 states and three Union Territories. Are the Governments in power legitimate? These questions will be answered only by history.

Yogi Adityanath condemns Rahul for criticising "Manusmriti Mindset." He identifies it as part of India's civilisation. We ought to be grateful to Yogiji for making his mind clear. Imposing Manusmriti is the only concern of Yogi, Modi, Amit Shah ... the whole RSS-BJP regime!!! The caste system must return. It must be re-imposed in 'veiled forms.' Varnashrama Dharma is part of Sanatana Dharma!

Yogi condemns Ajay Rai, Congress state President, for eating fish in Ayodhya; he is least worried about Temple robbery.

All Efforts are for Hiding the Real Intent
Mohan Bhagwat claimed in America that a Hindu who held that there should be no Muslims in India is not a Hindu. Asaduddin Owaisi was quick in his retort that this was the oldest trick in the RSS playbook. Hindutva think-tanks clothe their most malicious strategies in the most refined language. Call a bill "Freedom of Religion Bill" that takes away all religious freedoms. Link Women's Reservation with Delimitation, so that one who opposes Delimitation may appear to be against women. RSS proves to be veritable "Dimagi Naxals" with regard to ruining the interests of Minorities.

What was Mohan Bhagwat doing when cow vigilantes were killing Muslims in different parts of India, when Muslim houses were being bulldozed, when their business concerns were wrecked by selective marketing? Bhagwat spoke in America of a happy relationship between communities in India. Were the Bajrang Dal and a host of others Hindus while perpetrating those crimes? Why didn't he admit the role of the RSS in the US when his critics there were making the very same accusation? No evil intent can remain unnoticed forever.

Bhagwat was right to this extent: a genuine Hindu will not be against Muslims. This is the same as confessing that Bhagwat himself is not a Hindu. Arun Shourie is right: Hindutva think-tanks or activists are not Hindus. Shourie's main eagerness was to rescue Hinduism from the Hindutvawadis. How many devices have they invented to push the Hindutva cause ahead of national interests, whether it be the imposition of Vande Mataram or Sanatana Dharma?

Amit Shah calls Congress decision on Vande Mataram anti-national, forgetting that he is violating human rights by pressing religiously sensitive issues on Minorities. Rahul and Rijiju spar over linking Delimitation to women's quota law. Mutual allegations multiply. There is little chance for intelligent discussions once enlightened thinking is given a bad name, like urban Naxals, Dimagi Naxals.

In the meantime, Modi keeps wandering from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. As for his international public image, Pew Research recently found that fewer than 50% of Americans trust India. Is Modiji aiming to imitate Asim Munir of Pakistan, who has $125 billion in external debt and is wasting money on futile travel?

Things Go from Bad to Worse
Yogi's and Bhagwat's minds become clearer with the "Reservation Hatao" call from the elite section of India. Dalits must undergo their 'Karma!' The organisers were hoping that it would pick up. A response was not slow to come. Ramdas Athawale, a Dalit Union Minister, was roused. He called those spearheading the anti-Reservation movement "rashtra drohis." Abolishing Reservation is against the Constitution, he said. Acting against the Constitution has become a fashion for our leadership. Things are going from bad to worse. BJP itself has hastily shifted a "glorious future" to twenty years from now ... forever in the future, ever evasive, ever elusive!

Congress asks where "Achche din" are, with a 100% rise in prices of essential goods. Ground-level reports in every respect are increasingly alarming. NITI Aayog says that around 8.7 crore Indian youth are not studying, working, or receiving training. There is a measure of helplessness among the young. CJP's anger is merely a manifestation of the boiling discontent.

A civil society organisation reports that 101 safai Karmacharis died in sewers in the first 188 days of 2026. Ramdas Athawale frankly admits that over 300 have died in 5 years. Disappointment mounts in every sphere of activity, every region. Darjeeling hills feel cheated by the BJP. Amit Shah had been feeding them false hopes.

Tribals in the Northeast feel taken advantage of. The BJP filed 8 FIRs against Akhil Gogoi, a social activist in Assam. Christian communities in Bengal have been harassed. They seek to stage 100 'peace rallies' across Bengal over the coming months. Seven devotees were killed in a stampede at Ashok Dham Temple, Bihar. This has become a frequent affair. One wonders how a place of prayer does not foster respect for life.

The flood situation has worsened. There is no strategy to address the climate change that is affecting everyone. The monsoon has been deficient, but the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events continue to increase. We have hurt nature. Nature has lost its ability to provide "moderation" and purposefulness to its service. Extreme moist heat has increased in Assam from 20 to 100 days in 50 years. There is not enough intelligent discussion on such issues. Intellectuals are made to remain silent. That is the RSS-BJP formula for solving problems.

Intelligence Will Trim Pretensions to Self-Importance
Referring to D-Day Operation against the Nazis in Germany, Tony Blair had these words: "There was ... a defining understanding that in the end, the values that Britain – and indeed the rest of Europe and America – share were values that should be the guiding light for the future of humankind." Trump was recalling these words. If people like him symbolise these values, we know how far it will take society!

Emperor Akbar's annual revenue was 25 times more than that of the English sovereign, King James; that of Aurangzeb was 10 times the revenue of Louis XIV of France. Akbar and Aurangzeb have disappeared from Indian history books ... all credit to the RSS-inspired textbook writers! That is what happens to people who make themselves important. Mohan Bhagwat, with Vishwa Guru ambition, needs to remember that. Gandhi, Tagore, Nehru, and other great Indians placed India where it belonged, in a happy relationship with others. Even if Xi, Putin or Trump feel the need to boast, India need not follow the same path. Never boast!

The trouble, according to Koenraad Elst, is that "mediocre minds control the Hindutva movement." That is the root cause of the "inferiority complex" among the RSS-BJP think-tanks, not excluding Modiji. He himself admits it in other words. Puranic myths are given more historical value than verifiable facts. Elst is known as a Hindu sympathiser, but he had to admit the truth. There is no room for boasting.

During the student protests of 1968 in Paris, many posters read, "It Is Forbidden To Forbid." They were protesting against the pretentious leadership of the day. Similarly, it is embarrassing and self-humiliating to boast. Our intelligence should convince us that we cut a shabby figure by shallow claims. If CJP has a lesson for India, it is precisely this: Intelligent protests have power; they are convincing. There is no need to claim greatness if it is already there.

May we take the nation along the path of Intelligent Performance, not of reckless self-assertion.