RSS trying to create ‘correct Hindu atmosphere’ in Kerala, says Subhashini Ali

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is trying to create what it calls the “correct Hindu atmosphere” in Kerala, veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader Subhashini Ali has claimed.

She was here on Saturday (July 27) to deliver a lecture in memory of writer-film-maker ‘Chintha’ Raveendran on the topic ‘Manuvadi Hindutva – rewriting culture, history and right to equality’.

“The Manuvadi Hindutva project aims to destroy everything that makes Kerala unique – its strong syncretic cultural and religious forms and observances that weld various communities together in a common Malayali identity, its vibrant culture of progressive, avant garde literature, cinema, dance forms and theatre, its strong social reform renaissance movement that pushed back caste oppression, patriarchal dominance, feudal ways of thinking and brought about social transformation in the State, and its promotion of rational and scientific thinking and its history of struggle and sacrifice against both colonial and class exploitation,” she said.

Ms. Ali said that Kerala had a very special place in the RSS agenda. “Success in Kerala is of especial importance to the RSS, which [M.S.] Golwalkar described as a fortress of all three internal enemies of Hindutva – Muslims, Christians and the Communists. His commitment to the capture of this fortress is evident from the fact that he visited Kerala every year until his death,” she said.

“To make a dent in Kerala, the RSS decided fairly early that it should not concentrate on fighting elections and try to augment electoral gains steadily,” Ms. Ali said. She added that the RSS developed and honed its strategy of infiltrating different sections of society by various means to create a situation that could be used for achieving impressive electoral success. Hindutva organisations such as Desiya Seva Bharathi, Kerala Kshetra Samarakshana Samiti and Vivekananda Vedic Vision Kendra were being deployed for the purpose.

Ms. Ali pointed out that for these organisations, their paramount mission was to bring about a foundational cultural transformation of society centred on a “Hindu atmosphere” which, they believe, would naturally lead to the political and electoral preferences of people becoming solely confined to Hindutva politics. Ms. Ali described how the Hindutva organisations helped the BJP create an electoral impact in Kodangallur in Thrissur through their work and the activities around the Sree Kurumba Bhagavathi Temple there.

She claimed that such a model had been sought to be replicated across the State through various temple activities and pilgrimages, and cited the agitation against the Supreme Court verdict allowing women of all ages to visit the Sabarimala Temple as an example. The strong mobilisation that the reactionary forces could inspire, far beyond the strength of just the Sangh Parivar and its supporters, also needs to be understood, she added. Sharankumar Limbale, a Marathi writer, was presented with the ‘Chintha’ Raveendran Award for 2025. Functionaries of the Chintha Raveendran Foundation, such as N.S. Madhavan, among others, were present.