In the not so distant past, the RSS sarsanghchalak rarely interacted with the media. On Vijaya Dashami day, he delivered a special address which was reported in two paragraphs by the Nagpur press. The messages were usually diffuse and discreet. Even when Balasaheb Deoras once took a veiled dig at Indira Gandhi, his remarks were in a general context and not personalised. In 1979 when Morarji Desai’s government fell on the issue of dual membership of former Jana Sangh members in the Janata Party, the Sangh itself kept mum over the whole controversy. Keeping a distance from the media helped create an aura of mystique around the RSS boss and indicated a disinterest in temporal affairs. It was expected that by the time an individual was elevated to the role of sarsanghchalak, he did not even involve himself in the day to day affairs of the RSS. The hands-on organisational work was the responsibility of the sangh’s general secretary.

But the RSS’s new chief, Mohan Bhagwat, and his predecessor K. Sudarshan, to a lesser extent, are the exceptions. Bhagwat appears to love the media spotlight and the sound of his own voice. His candid comments, his constant advice to the BJP and to the country as a whole, along with occasional retractions, suggest the makings of an immature politician.

Apart from such startling pronouncements as globalisation is responsible for the unrest in the world, Bhagwat keeps making the point that he knows best what is good for the BJP. His gratuitous advice for the ailing BJP includes hints as to who should be the next BJP president — that he should be between the age of 50 and 55 and from outside Delhi — and that L.K. Advani should retire soon. But surprisingly, while Bhagwat has solutions to fix the country and the BJP, no one has been impertinent enough to question why he has not been able to revive his own flagging organisation, which, in fact, is in far poorer health than the BJP.

... contd.