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RSS philosophy based on "exclusivity and hate": US study Washington | August 10, 2005 8:47:42 PM IST The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fountainhead of rightwing Hindu politics in India, has been described by a new study as a "New Religious Movement (NRM)" comparable to some of the extreme Islamic fundamentalist movements. "Are there potential NRMs, even violent ones, apart from those spawned by Islamic radicalism? The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an ultra-Hindu nationalist movement, is one such organization. It has all the characteristics of a NRM. It espouses a strong and militant religious philosophy based on exclusivity and hate," the study titled 'Exploring Religious Conflict' by the Rand Corporation, often seen as the think tank of the conservative right, says. The study notes that the RSS was banned in 1948 for a few years after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi because of its ideology of hate. "In the 1990s, under the government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its role and influence in India grew and continues to grow even today. During the BJP's tenure in political office, the party was divided over associations with the RSS, with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee regarded as a soft-liner on Hindu nationalist issues and the party's president and deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, as the hardliner," the study says "But the RSS continued to gain momentum and was engaged in violence, particularly against what it viewed to be threats against the Hindu state, namely Muslims and Christians. Their religious view, with its cosmic dimension, remains a threat to the idea of India as a secular state," it says. While the study focuses on extremist Islamic movements it says NRMs are not specific to a religious tradition. It is in that context that the study cites the RSS. "NRMs can be found in Hinduism -- the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, Israel (Gush Emunim), Christianity (the US-based Identity Movement) and Islam, including Al-Qaeda, a global network with A transcendant vision that draws support in the defense of Islam," it says. "After September 11th, it almost goes without saying that religious violence in the name of a holy cause has escalated. Killing in the name of God constitutes a major driver of violent conflicts today. No major religion has been, or is today, a stranger to violence from its extremists, and that violence will pose challenges for U.S. foreign policy and for the analysts who seek to inform that policy," the study notes. "So, too, comparisons across forms of religious violence are instructive. New Religious Movements (NRMs) - which are almost always offshoots, however bizarre, of major religious traditions - have also emerged as sources of violence. Yet Islamic extremists are now in a class by themselves as a threat to the United States, as a transnational, non-state movement with the chance to appeal to a billion and a half people," the study's summary says. -- (IANS) -- Cheers, Gabe Menezes. London, England
