On Vijayadashami 1987 (2 October 1987), Balasaheb Deoras gave the annual address at the gathering in Nagpur. This page summarises what was reported about it.
The day
- Date: 2 October 1987
- Place: Nagpur
- Address by: Balasaheb Deoras
What the address covered
Deoras's 1987 address was widely read as political. He rejected the view that the RSS was anti-Congress, noted that founder Hedgewar had been a Congressman, and said the RSS opposed only Congress 'minority appeasement'. With the Congress weakening, terrorism and separatism rising and the Opposition divided, he said there was no alternative to the Congress and that the RSS did not want a weak Centre. A Congress(I) general secretary welcomed the remarks, the BJP was embarrassed, and critics such as Noorani called it a purely political lecture.
As reported
But this is wrong. Our founder, Dr. Hedgewar, was a senior Congressman.
Context
Controversy: the 'no alternative to the Congress' remark led to a closed-door RSS-BJP conclave in Nagpur and was seen as undercutting BJP efforts at Opposition unity.
How sure is this?
This account is supported by two or more independent sources, listed below.
In the archive
Sources & copyright status
- S.P. Udayakumar, Presenting the Past: Anxious History and Ancient Future in Hindutva India (Praeger, 2005), Internet Archive full-text search snippet
- The Forum Gazette, Vol. 2 No. 19, 'R.S.S.-Congress(I) Alliance Comes in the Open' (5-19 Oct 1987)
- A.G. Noorani, The RSS: A Menace to India (LeftWord, 2019), digitised text on Internet Archive
- Mainstream (7 Nov 1987), report on BJP leaders' Nagpur meeting after Deoras's Dussehra statement
- Mainstream, Vol. 29 (1990-91), commentary on the BJP after its Jaipur session
- JPRS Report, Near East & South Asia, JPRS-NEA-88-028 (19 Apr 1988), translating Indian press on RSS-BJP relations
- Historical facts: not subject to copyright. Quotations are short extracts as reported in the sources cited; speeches are summarised in our own words.
- Commentary and translations on this page: original to The Hindu Book. © The Hindu Book, all rights reserved.
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