RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's call for unity: A shift in Hindutva discourse?

The calling for halt to rash of 'masjids built over mandirs' claims could stem from realisation that it will be impossible for BJP government to maintain order if the issue spirals out of control

If a crow sits on top of a temple, can it become an eagle? Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak (chief) Mohan Bhagwat asked in a speech on Thursday as part of the Sanjeevan Vyakhyanmala series in Pune. He also brought back the Sangh’s ambition that India should rise as a vishwaguru, or teacher to the world. This is something the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have stopped saying lately. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is now evangelising vishwamitra (friend to the world).

 

While these statements sound merely rhetorical, they aren’t. These were important flourishes in what appears to