When Pranab Dropped by at the RSS
Now that Pranab Mukherjee has completed his address at the RSS headquarters, let’s see what it says about the different actors in the story, as well as those on the sidelines who spoke (or stayed silent) as events played out: 1) Pranab Mukherjee did something that most intellectuals only talk about: He was willing to publicly engage with an opposing ideology. Or as RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha put it : “Whether it is ideological or political untouchability, anyone who considers political untouchability is harming democracy. This was the first message of Pranab da attending the RSS headquarters.” 2) Pranab comes off even better because he had the courage to tell the RSS (in their own den, no less) that India stood for plurality, secularism, tolerance and inclusiveness. 3) The RSS comes off well because they too were willing to engage with someone who opposes their ideology. In fact, as this Deccan H...