The Shiv Sena has said that brandishing swords and sticks at Ram Navami processions, raising incendiary slogans and making threatening noises outside mosques, and creating communal hatred in society is not Hindutva.

The Shiv Sena has made these arguments both in the latest editorial carried by its mouthpiece, Saamna, and the weekly column written by its spokesperson Sanjay Raut, insisting the violence witnessed over the past few days was not good for the country.

It is interesting that the BJP is now being challenged on the content and nature of Hindutva by one of its staunchest proponents, the Sena, which was known for its hard-line advocacy of Hindu supremacist politics for decades.

While parties like the Congress believe that Hindutva is a political construct meant for control and domination, misusing Hinduism to execute its agenda, the Sena avoids such semantic debates. It insists that what the BJP is doing is pure divisive politics that is antithetical to an inclusive Hindutva.

Even RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat explains Hindutva in terms of inclusion and accommodation but remains silent on the violent consequences of the BJP’s politics.

But Sanjay Raut wrote in his column: “Violent incidents happened in 10 states. The scenes were not good for the country. Are swords flashed in such religious processions? The intention is to spread hate in the name of religion? Mohan Bhagwat said we will achieve Akhand Bharat in 15 years. Is this the beginning of that process? Politics of riots has begun on the pretext of Ram Navami in other states and on loudspeaker in Maharashtra.”

Raut did not pull his punches, saying: “Even if the country is broken into pieces, the BJP has to win elections by spreading religious animosity. The BJP has been bluntly pursuing this path. Some of the states that witnessed trouble will go to the polls. They are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Karnataka. Processions were taken out on Gudi Parva across Maharashtra but no violence happened. Processions passed through Muslim areas and nobody threw stones. Will anybody believe Muslims will throw stones on a VHP procession in Gujarat, the state of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah?”

Raut added: “Mohan Bhagwat talked about Hindu Rashtra. He said the objective will be achieved through non-violence. That’s good. But triggering violence in the name of Ram is like throwing the country into the abyss of discord and instability. This will sow seeds of a new partition and the country will get divided instead of becoming Akhand Bharat.

“One partition gave birth to fanatics like Nathuram Godse. He killed Gandhi. Gandhi said ‘Hey Ram’ while breathing his last. The same Ram is today witnessing the country burn in religious fanaticism and arrogance. How will an Akhand Hindu Rashtra come into being if tukde-tukde gangs spring up in the name of Ram?”

While the Sena’s existing allies — the Congress and the NCP — shun the idea of Hindu Rashtra and believe firmly in constitutional democracy, the Sena’s strident critiques of the RSS-BJP’s ideological positions have thrown up interesting questions about Hindutva politics.

Although the BJP has had many allies, the Sena alone was considered an integral part of its ideological fraternity. The BJP’s current allies, whether the Janata Dal United in Bihar or the parties from the Northeast, do not endorse its ideological positions.

The Sena has repeatedly asserted that it has not abandoned Hindutva despite aligning with the Congress and the NCP. But it has forcefully articulated its opposition to communal politics over the years, contending that Hindutva does not mean enmity with Muslims.

The BJP may not be able to publicly differ with that formulation but a Hindutva proponent attacking it for communalism will pinch the erstwhile big brother.