RSS Will Falter at the Altar of Climate Change

Pretty odd title, you might be wondering! After all, what does the RSS have to do with climate change?

Well, not directly, but the two are connected just like all humans are associated with the perils of climate change threatening our existence.

Right now, the RSS appears unstoppable. After all, their political arm the BJP has been in power for the past ten years and it appears that Modi’s run will continue for the next five years as well.

The stated goal of RSS, as articulated by its founder MS Golwalkar, is to transform India from a liberal democracy into a Hindu Rashtra. And it is largely succeeding.

The passing of anti-conversion laws in many states, the inauguration of the Ram temple with overwhelming fanfare, the abrogation of Article 370, the lynching of Muslims, and attacks on churches and masjids are a precursor to the formal designation of India as a Hindu Rashtra.

Even if the government changes, it will only prolong the inevitable and cannot stop it. The UPA government lasted ten years from 2004 till 2014 but it couldn’t stop the BJP from returning to power and continuing with its Hindutva agenda.

The same will be true with the current NDA regime. Even if the INDIA alliance defeats it, the lull will be temporary and the BJP will return with greater vengeance to usher in Hindu Rashtra.

But will the RSS/BJP victory be long-lasting like in pre-British India? No, it won’t.

When Golwalkar imagined the Hindu Rashtra in the 1920s, there was no threat of climate change affecting our country or planet. Therefore environmental factors were not considered by the Hindutva ideologues when they formulated the concept of Hindu Rashtra.

And why would they? India was in the pre-industrial age in the 1920s and global warming was not a concern in those days. Also, the Hindus being driven by blind faith and dogmas believe in divine origins to everything happening around them.

For this reason, they don’t take global warming and climate change too seriously thinking that every crisis can be resolved by visiting temples and organising Havans.

No wonder climate change issues don’t figure in the discourses of either RSS or Narendra Modi, a staunch RSS devotee.

But even after the realization of Hindu Rashtra, the victory of the right-wingers will be short-lived for climate change is threatening our very existence.

Nature hath no fury. None will be spared from the fury of nature. It will not discriminate based on caste, religion, or language.

And India is one of the most vulnerable countries to the impact of climate change.

Therefore the victory of the RSS will be bitter and short-lived. They will not be able to lord over the lower castes for long for climate crisis will eventually engulf every nook and corner of the country.

Already, the mountainous regions in the north are facing frequent floods and landslides. Cities like Bengaluru are facing a water scarcity crisis.

The groundwater levels are depleting alarmingly in many states. There are drought-like conditions prevailing in agricultural areas owing to the prolonged El Nino impact.

In such a situation, our collective energies should be focused on human survival by mitigating the impact of climate change.

Alas, our leadership is blind to such concerns and is solely focused on winning 400 seats in the Parliamentary elections to alter the Constitution and usher in Hindu Rashtra!

But this Hindu Rashtra will not only be exclusionary and biased, but eventually, short-lived.