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8 Social Services, Muscular Hinduism and Implicit Militancy in West Bengal: The Case of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha
Raphal Voix
gha) rama San The Bharat Sevashram Sangha (Bha ra ta Seva s

literally the community of service to India and referred to here as BSS was founded in 1923 in Bengal by a religious leader named Pranavananda (18961941). Nowadays, by combining the institution of a monastic order and the dispensing of social services the BSS, together with the Ramakrishna Mission, is the most famous Hindu organisation among contemporary Bengali elites. In this article, I question the role the BBS plays in the entrenchment of Hindutva ideology in West Bengal. By showing how the BSSs discourses and actions uctuate according to the political context in the state where it is expanding, I argue, in this article, that the ambivalence the BSS shows towards the Sangh Parivar can make it both an agent of resistance to Hindutva ideology and an instrument for the cultural entrenchment of Hindutva in West Bengal. In the rst part of this article, I will show how the BSS is inscribed in Bengal culture and will present its activities in the social services sector. In the second and third parts, I analyse its activities to reform pilgrimage sites and the way it positions itself in the realm of politics. Last, I discuss what I call the BSSs implicit militancy: an attitude where militancy is constantly euphemised through muscular rituals and discourses. The data used in this article is based on rst-hand eldwork conducted in 2007 on the BSSs premises, and has been completed using the organisations literature in Bengali.1 It is also supplemented with interviews given by leaders of
During a rst two-month period of eldwork (JanuaryFebruary 2007), I stayed at the groups headquarters in Kolkata. During a second 10-day period of eldwork, I attended all the activities conducted at the groups ashram in Banaras for the celebration of Durga ja Pu . Along with simple observations of the groups daily activities, my eldwork consisted of informal interviews in
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Hindutva organisations in West Bengal and by civil servants who have worked directly with this group. By taking the BSS as a case study, I hope to contribute to the ethnographic knowledge about West Bengal contemporary religious life and to add to what we know of traditionalist movements outside mainstream north Indian ones. More specically, I wish to provide a better understanding of the regional cultural entrenchment of Hindutva in West Bengal.2

Pranavananda and the Bharat Sevashram Sangha

Although it is always difcult to nd out exactly how the founder of a sect recruited lay followers (Shah 2006: 225), hagiographies published by the BSS reveal that Vinode Da sa, the founder and guru of the BSS, was born in 1896 to a ka yastha family from East Bengal 3 (Smarta 2001: 6). He was initiated to brahmacharya by the abbot (mahanta) of the na tha-samprada ya of Gorakshapur in 1913, and 11 years later to renouncement (sam na m sam sa) by a Das si nya 4nya and renamed Pranavananda (Chakravarty 1992: 247, n. 43). From 1923 onwards, as an admirer of Vivekananda, by whom he claims to have been inuenced, Pranavananda gathered around him a group of youths to conduct relief work in East Bengal, work that was open to both communities even in times of communal tension
Bengali with lay people and ascetics of the movement. I completed these with visits to different centres belonging to the group in West Bengal, Orissa (India) and London (England). I wish to thank Swami Buddhanandaji Maharaj, Secretary General to Bharat Sevashram Sangha, who gave me his full consent to conduct this research. 2 In West Bengal, I would like to thank Pr. Suranjan Das who provided me with contacts from his address book. Within the BSS itself, my sincere thanks go to all the ascetics who welcomed me and agreed to speak to me. I would like to thank Gwi Lym Becker Legge, Catherine Clmentin-Ojha, Elinor W. Gadon, Sophie Huguet, Sebastien Mayor and the books editors for comments on an earlier version of this article. 3 Called Bazitpur, Pranavanandas home village is located in the Madaripur subdivision of the district of Faridpur in Bangladesh. Nowadays, it still houses the BSSs former headquarters where a fair is held annually on the occasion of the Guru Pu rn . . ima 4 The organisation does not comment on this change of religious afliation, although according to the specic rules of each sect, these two initiations would not be sufcient to be considered a full member any of either of the two sects (Bouillier 1997: 152); contemporary BSS renouncers claim to belong to the giri ankara order allegedly created by S ca rya (8th9th century).

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(Chakravarty 1992: 232). Pranavanandas youth is closely associated with early 20th-century Bengali political life. His village district was at the very heart of the revolutionary movement in East Bengal (ibid.: 229), and he himself is described as acting as condent for local leaders to whom he paid great respect for their courage and self-sacrice. However, he did not implicate himself directly in this trend and even weaned some militants away from the path of revolutionary terrorism (ibid.: 247, n 42).5 From the 1930s onwards, Pravananda lent a more militant emphasis to the group. The wider context for this development was the increasing polarisation of the religious communities in India, partly due to the British governments introduction of communal representation in politics which spurred on the attempts by leaders to seek the unication and expansion of their respective communities (Gooptu 2001: 230). Though Pranavananda did not consider himself a social reformer, he wished to reorganise, reunite and revitalise the disintegrated and disrupted Hindu masses into a well-knit Hindu society (Smart 1985: 102). Striving to unite Hindu society constitutes the ideological basis for all Hindutva defenders. To that end, Pranavananda advocated the creation of temples supposedly open to all Hindus in order to unite the Hindu population (Hindu milana mandira). He joined the Hindu Mahasabha, and the BSS even claims that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (190154) the Hindu Mahasabhas working, fulltime president from 1944 48 was Pranavanandas devotee, a claim that shows the BSSs moderate militancy, as we shall see later.6 However, before the Hindu Mahasabhas decision in 1948 to

Like leaders of most traditional Hindu sects, neither did he directly participate in the national struggle, nor did he overtly condemn it (Sinha and Saraswati 1978: 206). However, all the groups leaets present him as an important national freedom ghter. 6 As a top-ranking member of Bengali society, Shyam Prasad Mukherjee belonged successively to the Congress, the Hindu Mahasabha he resigned from the latter in November 1948 when it decided to limit its membership exclusively to Hindus and the Jana Sangh. However, he is known for his moderation. The national press has always treated his public statements with considerable respect and he beneted from a broad following among the middle classes, well-educated and English-speaking groups which dominated the professional, business and industrial life of Indias modern towns and cities (Graham 1990: 913, 5557).
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suspend its political activities, with the death of Pranavananda in 1941 the BSS focussed exclusively on sangathan work: relief work, the rehabilitation of refugees and a solution to diverse social, cultural and religious problems. It abandoned its political struggle and concentrated on the groups prosperity through the worship of the guru. Early in the history of the BSS, Pranavananda was believed to be a divine manifestation (avata ra). Hagiographies describe an extraordinarily peaceful (khubai s anto) child, spontaneously inclined to meditation (dhya na). From a more original point of view, they depict Pranavanandas body as being particularly strong and energetic (Smarta 2001: 8) and represent it as huge, muscular and physically trained. Emphasis is also given to the fact that he acquired such strength through living on a lean vegetarian diet (s a kahari) and through the practice of celibacy (brahmacharya). This emphasis on the physical potentiality of Pranavanandas body illustrates the quest for masculinity that was the driving force behind the Bengali Hindu elite in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In opposition to the hardy, masculine, imperial British ruler, the Bengali man had been constructed as effeminate and inept (Rosselli 1980; Sinha 1995). Though it was the condition for their existence within the British Raj, the Hindu elite of Bengal challenged this archetypical gure of the effeminate Bengali ba bu, or government clerk, usually considered responsible for the degradation of society. Realising that they had never had a culture of political virility compared to other Indian Hindus (Rajputs, Sikhs and Marathas) they launched a physical culture movement that aimed at recovering what was seen as a loss of manliness (Banerjee 2005; Basu and Banerjee 2006; Chowdhury 2001). The Vivekananda man-making mission reformulated a Hindu masculinity in terms of a heroic ascetic the sam si icon whose strength lied in its self nya discipline in opposition to the insensitive virility exemplied by the colonisers (Chowdhury-Sengupta 1996). The core value of this Hindu nationalist masculinity lies in the celibacy and vegetarianism believed to confer manliness (Alter 1994a). Like many Bengali ascetics and saints, Pranavanandas charisma revolves around the Goddess (Clementin-Ojha 1990; Hallstrom 1999). According to his hagiography, when young, he was so ill that his mother offered him to the Goddess and since then he belonged to Her. Another story goes that the founder was attending a

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pu ja and that he prayed to the Goddess to show herself, which she did by entering his body (Parameshananda 2002: 61). As a matter of fact, records state that Pranavananda always had, together with a huge and physically trained body, a motherly grace, charm and coolness, a detail that would have led some people to mistake him for a lady while others considered him the divine mother (ma ta ji) (Yatiswarananda 2005: 198). His image incarnates this duality by representing Pranavananda simultaneously with the physical attributes of a strongly built ascetic and a feminine appearance long hair falling loose over his shoulders and a feminine smile of a motherly goddess. This representation underlines Bengali Shaktisms inuence on the BSS: the Mother Goddess having always been a symbol of martial strength and prowess. Nowadays, among its ascetics, the BSS claims to include 400 Bengali male renouncers, and several thousand volunteers (sevaka).7 Besides their religious duties a number of rules, of which the most important is the vow of celibacy believed to confer spiritual and mundane power renouncers usually full an administrative task which consists of providing a service according to the organisations needs and ones seniority. The oldest and most senior renouncers hold a seat on the governing body, the supreme authority that rules the group.8 Though all of them pay their respects to the current BSS president Tridivananda, the 5th since the founder they consider themselves to be disciples of Pranavananda, whose sayings they regard as the revealed truth (brahmava ), just as much an n . authority as the Vedic revelation (veda ) (Ashokananda 1995: va n . 9 7172). The most important ritual of all the groups ashrams is the daily cult to the guru (gurupu ja ): three times a day, disciples worship Pranavanandas divine image (mu rti).
The words renouncers and ascetics are not synonymous: renouncers are one specic type of ascetics, those who have literately renounced sacricial rites. For details about this distinction, see Clementin-Ojha (2006). 8 The governing body rules over four committees the general committee, Ashram Management Committee, the moving ashrams, the householders ivas Night ashrams they all meet annually at the BSS headquarters after S (s ivara tri ). 9 Many stories are told to prove his divinity and any remark questioning it is rmly condemned within the group by either expulsion or punishment (Parameshananda 2002: 9).
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The BSSs laity divides itself between devotees (bhakta) who often come to the ashram, take pra sada and can make donations to BSS and disciples (sis ya) who incarnate a higher degree of commitment: they have been initiated (d ks a ) by one of the BSSs renouncers and practise pu ja regularly to Pranavananda. While disciples are mostly women, devotees may be of any sex. Like ascetics, the BSSs laity comes from Bengali high-caste gentry (bhadraloka) and originates predominantly from East Bengal.10 It usually comes from an urban lower-middle class. The mens dominant occupation is clerical ofce work (ca kure) and, to a lesser extent, local entrepreneurship while women are mostly housewives. Signicantly, the BSSs headquarters are situated in Kolkata, in the exclusive area, Ballygunge, known for being a centre of high-caste Hindu Bengali culture and the native place of a number of Bengali educated intellectuals (s iks . ita buddhij v ra), artists and politicians with a strong Trinamul Congress presence.11 Of the BSSs 63 ashrams in India, most are located in West Bengal, the rest being in other Indian states. Outside India, BSS runs three centres in the USA (Chicago, New Jersey and New York); two in Canada (Toronto and Ontario); and one in England (London), Guyana (Nigg), the West Indies (Trinidad), Bangladesh (Bazitpur) and Fidji (BSS 2006: 4). However, in all these places, disciples have remained almost exclusively Bengali Hindus, and the BSSs ashrams are usually considered to be a haven of Bengali culture and religious traditions.12 The importance the BSS has acquired among Bengalis can only be understood when reviewing the actions it carried out in Bengal. The BSS is primarily known for its organised social service (seva ).13 Since its creation, it has undertaken extensive relief and rehabilitation work in times of natural disasters and has offered various services to pilgrims. Although these are not the only social services provided by the BSS, it is mainly through them that Bengalis rub shoulders

For a discussion of the concept of bhadraloka with a complete bibliography see Chatterji (1994: 312). 11 Situated between the Gariaha t commercial district and the Bijan Setu bridge, the address of the BSSs headquarters is 211, Rasbihari Avenue. 12 One exception to the rule is the Guyanese ashram of BSS, where laity mostly comprises Caribbean Hindus (Hawley 2004: 12125). 13 On seva as organised social service see Beckerlegge (2006).
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with BSS activists.14 In all its ofcial papers iers, website the BSS describes itself as a worldwide organisation of seless workers dedicated to relieving the sick and the distressed, and to providing basic necessities and comfort during natural disasters. The BSS is reputed to react rapidly in times of natural disasters by providing teams of volunteers and supplying the population concerned with the basic necessities. In many cases, it has proved its efciency by being the very rst Hindu humanitarian organisation to arrive on the spot.15 Greatly appreciated in West Bengal an Indian state known to be prey to regular oods this work has led the BSS to play an active role in the different calamities that have hit Bengal since the beginning of the 20th century.16 Besides its relief work, the BSS has concentrated its efforts in the eld of healthcare: it runs 64 free medical centres some of them are mobile and thus able to access places in the state where the governments presence is still a pipe dream. This activity has rapidly increased since the 1990s and BSS now runs a few well-known high-tech hospitals including one situated in West Bengals capital as well as centres for cancer patients, etc.17 Freely available to anyone, these services enable the BSS to come into contact with a sizable number of Bengalis and be looked upon favourably by the population at large. Nowadays, it benets from a very positive global image.

The BSS is also very active in education: the group claims to own 100 schools and to take charge of 32,000 students. However, with 650,000 dollars spent in 2006, education comes as third in its expenditure, after medical care and relief work ($3,200,000), and pilgrim services and guest houses ($720,000). Still, education is of strategic importance since most BSS renouncers are former students of schools run by the group (Parameshananda 2002: 67). 15 See Devastation Continues, The Statesman, Kolkata, 24 October 2005, or Chief Minister Declares West Midnapore Flood-hit, The Statesman, Kolkata, 8 July 2007. 16 The Midnapore BSSs headquarters cyclone (1942), the Bengal famine (1942) and the numerous seasonal oods due to monsoons that have struck the Bengal region due to its low elevation (1978, 1998, 2001, 2008). It has also conducted relief work after other disasters in India, such as the Bhopal gas tragedy (1980), Andhra Pradesh cyclone (1996), Orissa cyclone (2001), the tidal wave (2004), oods in Mumbai and Gujarat (2005) (BSS 2005: 11). 17 For an up-to-date list of all BSS activities, see its main website: http://www. bharatsevashramsangha.net/, accessed 3 April 2009.
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For historical and cultural reasons its emergence during a strategic period of Indias history and its grassroots in Bengali religious life the BSS has forged a highly respectable image that has enabled it to reach a Bengal public beyond mere pro-Hindutva militants. More especially, the travel agency created by the BSS, specialising in Bengali pilgrimages, has been the most effective way for the group to win popularity among high-caste Bengalis. Nevertheless, this undertaking has led to certain paradoxes, as we shall now see.

The Building of a Bengali Hindu Community

The importance that pilgrimage networks gained in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for constructing a sacred Indian geography and for forging a national Hindu identity is well known. It is believed that by sharing religious activities with fellow pilgrims from all over India, pilgrims may sense that they belong to a larger cultural tradition, that is, Hinduism. Taking part in a pilgrimage became a key element for enacting ones Hindu identity. Ethnographical data suggests that in the case of pilgrimages promoted by the BSS, the effect might not unify the population to the extent these studies have suggested. During his lifetime, Pranavananda denounced the malevolent environment of pilgrimage centres as the reason why Hindus undertook few pilgrimages. In his view, Hindu pilgrims were afraid to go on a pilgrimage because of the priests (pa n ) well-known . da habit of cheating. Pranavanandas most popular hagiographies an illustrated life-sketch explain how priests in Gaya had dragged and caught his hands and how this made him furious. He is shown punching and throwing one priest, while denouncing the priests violence, outrage and oppression ( juluma). The scene is particularly violent: two other priests who witnessed it are depicted as looking scared and running to ee the place. According iva to the legend, Pranavananda took the terrifying form of S (rudramu rti) and this enabled him to throw the priests one by one from the site. From that day on, he decided to reform the pilgrimage sites. In his opinion, this would incite pilgrims to go on pilgrimages in greater numbers without being subject to any harassment, and would thus contribute to Hindu unity. Thereupon, within a few years his disciples had built several rest homes and inrmaries in different places to encourage pilgrimages, which he

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Plate 8.1: Image of Swami Pranavananda, revered as the King of the Hindus. A sam . nyasin from the BSS practicing a ritual aspersion (abhis eka ) to the divine image of his guru on the . iva (Maha ivara occasion of the great night of S S tri). Kolkata, February 2007. Courtesy of Raphal Voix.

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thought necessary to boost Hindu unity. Although this criticism of the malevolent environment surrounding pilgrimages was made in the 1920s, many of todays educated Hindus would still agree with it. Priests at pilgrimage sites are largely seen as cheats and indeed as using a secret dialect known only to them designed to trick, cheat and dupe clients (Caplan 1997: 23031). This explains the success of the BSSs ashrams at different pilgrimage sites. In fact, as mentioned earlier, the BSS literally created a travel agency for Bengali pilgrims. Nowadays, it provides accommodation, transport information, ritual worship and circuits to any Bengali Hindu wishing to go on a pilgrimage. Among the hundreds of Indian Hindu pilgrimage sites, the BSS has concentrated its efforts on those places accessible to Bengali pilgrims after an overnight train journey at the most: Gaya (Bihar); Gangasagara and Tarapitha (West Bengal); Puri (Orissa); and Banaras (Uttar Pradesh). At each of these sites, the BSS has built large ashrams where it offers accommodation for a maximum of three consecutive nights, and provides proper guidance for religious rituals, a vegetarian canteen and facilities for families who wish to cook their own food. Everyday, dozens of people not necessarily disciples seeking information on pilgrimages contact the BSSs headquarters in Kolkata. Divyananda, along with a few dedicated volunteers, answers the pilgrims questions and provides them with all the practical information necessary: train and bus timetables, map of the site, contact number of the local person in charge, leaet-giving advice, etc. Receipts are given for any expenses and all rates are xed on a donation basis as is the usual practice in Hinduism. If the BSSs ashrams are so successful among Bengali pilgrims it is because they provide an ideal physical and linguistic environment for them. Ashrams are usually spacious, very clean, and the Bengali volunteers always helpful and considerate. All communication and exchanges are in Bengali, the mother tongue of most pilgrims, rather than in the local language spoken at the pilgrimage centre. The extraordinary capacity to organise, coordinate and help Bengali pilgrims in their religious duties is well known among the Bengali urban middle class: the BSSs pilgrim guesthouse registration books show that almost only Bengalis use BSS services for pilgrimages.18
The registration records do not tell us whether the guests would have gone on a pilgrimage in the absence of BSS services.
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Considered a sacred space, the pilgrimage site is nevertheless described as a malevolent environment, full of local priests and tour operators who try to rip them off. According to the BSS, the only way to avoid being cheated would be to make exclusive use of the BSSs services, i.e., to stay in their ashram, perform rituals with their priests and avoid contact with any other people.19 The BSS warns pilgrims about using services offered by any other community. It supplies details to ensure that pilgrims reach the BSSs ashram directly, with no undue inconvenience: photographs of the main gate of the ashram are provided along with specic details to avoid people having to depend on any intermediaries. Once inside the ashram, while checking in, the pilgrim is again told to be wary of the dangers associated with the local community, a warning that is reiterated by a sign on the wall. Newcomers are advised to carry out any activity on the site through BSS, including sightseeing and ritual worship, all at a reasonable rate (Vedananda 1999: 10). I argue, therefore, that, rather than reinforcing the Hindu community in a wider sense the pan-Indian Hindu the BSSs pilgrim-age services contribute to creating a community in a much narrower sense, a Bengali Hindu community. Not only, as has been emphasised, are BSSs ashrams specically designed for Bengali pilgrims, but they are designed to make sure that the BSSs pilgrims will use the BSSs services exclusively. The usual homogenising effect associated with pilgrimages, which occurs because pilgrims, coming from diverse linguistic areas and representing different castes and occupations, participate together in a standardised set of religious activities (Caplan 1997: 210) is reduced to a minimum here. Except for the strict ritual time of the pilgrimage, Bengali pilgrims using the BSSs services have little opportunity to meet any nonBengali pilgrims. Once in the BSS ashram, Bengali pilgrims usually attend rituals inside it, even when they are neither acquainted with the BSS nor with the cult of Pranavananda. Many of the Bengali pilgrims I met in Gaya explained that the BSS monks dedication had so impressed them that, after their pilgrimage, they had become
For example, the leaet for Gaya (Bihar) stipulates that pilgrims should to go to the BSS ofce situated on the main platform as soon as the train reaches the station. If the pilgrim does not do this, he is sure to be ripped off (Vedananda 1999: 15) and to become the prey of the machination of thieves and rogues (ibid.: 10), as the BSS call local guides and priests.
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devotees and, more recently, disciples. Similarly, Indrajit Ray, head of a Bengali family living in Guwahati (Assam) came to Puri to visit Lord Jagannaths temple. He explained that without the BSS ashram where he was lodging, he could not have taken the risk of bringing his family. He now considers himself a devotee of Pranavananda. Another Bengali explained that, because he did not have much money, he went on a honeymoon with his wife to the BSSs ashram, since both of them are regular devotees of the BSS. Henceforth, the importance of the BSSs regional identity must not be underestimated. As we can see, in many cases, the cultural factor was determinant in its disciples trajectory. Most relevant to this particular focus are the cases of former RSS activists. While, like all Hindu sects, the BSS mainly recruits new members from the vast number of non-sectarians (Shah 1996: 209), there are a few cases of disciples who come from other Hindu groups. Such is the case of Salil Kapat, a Bengali ex-RSS activist who recently joined the BSS. He explains that he withdrew from the RSS because he found it overbearing, regimented, unscrupulous and dehumanised, and also because of its pro-Hindi stand. What bothered him most was the RSSs Bengali leaders preference for Hindi even when speaking amongst themselves. They ridiculed Bengalis for lagging far behind the Marwaris and Gujaratis in religion, writes Kapat. Then he recognises the glory of Bengal with regard to its religious leaders: Having been brainwashed, they forget that Chaitanyadeb, Bijoykrishna Goswami, Vivekananda, Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Aurobindo were Bengalis! To his eyes, the BSS showed more respect to the different Bengali religious leaders. Indeed, as mentioned above, the BSSs founder was very much inuenced by Vivekananda. Therefore, Kapat encountered an assertive Hinduism in BSS that was deeply entrenched in his culture, the culture of Bengal.20 Another disciple speculated that the RSS was not part of the cultural ethos of the State, an argument also put forward by politicians against Hindutva. In this discussion, the disciple claimed that the RSSs culture was too Brahminic, while that of the BSS was more Ks . atriya. The cultural distinction between the BSS and other militant Hindu organisations is also reected in the different

Kaneo a mi RSSera samparka tya ga korla m (Why I Left RSS). See Modi Ilks Bigoted Pogrom, The Statesman, Calcutta, 9 April 2002.
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locations for these organisations. Whereas, as mentioned earlier, the BSSs headquarters are situated in a Bengali neighbourhood of rya Kolkata, mainstream Hindutva organisations (the RSS, VHP, A Sama j) are located right on the other side of town, in the Lalbazara area of north Kolkata which is mostly inhabited by Hindi-speaking merchants from northern India and usually referred to in Bengal as Marwari.21 The BSS is seen by its disciples as an autochthonous organisation, while the RSS is seen as foreign to Bengali culture. It is well-known that one of any sects major challenges is regularly to convert new disciples. In the case of the BSS, building ashrams at different Hindu pilgrimage sites not only contributes to its nationalist agenda by encouraging pilgrimages, but it attracts Bengali non-sectarian Hindus and eventually prompts their initiation into the sect. While the BSS professes an idea of unity in Hinduism, at the same time it asserts its own vision of Hinduism. This vision condemns the contemporary depraved practices (a ca rabhras na Hindu) and .t . a) of Hindus (bartama errors (bhra ya netbarge), thus nti) of religious leaders (dharm condemning all other Hindu groups (Nirmalananda 2000: 41) and suggesting that real Hindus are BSS Hindus, read Bengali Hindus. This attitude leads to more fragmentation among Hindus. Thus, during the groups gathering, a cry to the glory of the eternal religion a concept associated today with Hinduism is always given in between shouts of glory to the group or to the guru.22 This association again suggests that only the BSS and Pranavananda are capable of defending real Hindus and real Hinduism. Setting up the BSSs ashrams in major northern Indian pilgrimage centres provides opportunities for spreading the BSSs ideas and beliefs rather than a vision of Hindu unity. Whereas a pilgrimage usually reects a supra-local level of integration, here pilgrimages contribute to reinforcing the number of devotees in the sect. However, there is another reason that explains BSSs success in the realm of Bengali religion.
The RSS headquarter, known as Keshava Bhavan, is located at Abhedhananda Road, not far from the Arya Samaj and the VHPs headquarters. 22 Hail to the Bharat Seva Ashram! Hail to the eternal religion! Hail to Swami Pranavananda! (Bha rama sagha K ? Ja ra ta seva s y ! Sana tana dharma K ? Ja y ! Sva m Pranaba nanda K ? Ja y !).
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Social Services and Communal Harmony

Although they have made great efforts to penetrate West Bengal, organisations such as the RSS and VHP, usually recognised as major agents of Hindutva ideologies, have not gathered as large a following as in other states.23 In fact, the BSSs overt dissociation from politics has contributed to the group receiving support from the Bengali elite. Very early in its history, the BSS distanced itself from electoral politics. Since it withdrew from the Hindu Mahasabha in the 1940s, it has not taken part in any political party and claims to be a purely philanthropic organisation. Tridivananda, the current head of the organisation, recalls in each of his public discourses that the BSS is a non sectarian, non communal and non political organisation.24 Renouncers who insist on the BSSs independence relay this message. They criticise electoral politics as belonging to a vile and impure realm.25 Texts published by the group denounce Indias politicians as regularly being in favour of the Western material culture and ideals (Vedananda 1950: 11), a culture that he calls the demons culture (a surik sam . skr . ti), identied by the material scientic culture in comparison to dharmas culture (dharma sam . skr . ti), identied as an Indo-Aryan spiritual culture (ibid.: 4). Their criticisms do not spare the Sangh Parivars movements. Although the RSS and VHP are ofcially non-political organisations, the BSS considers that they fraternise too much with electoral politics which, as we will see later, does not prevent the BSS from joining forces with these organisations at certain times and places. Members of BSS are proud to publish the fact that their organisation is totally independent from these groups: even the BSSs website has no link to any sites afliated to the VHP. This is the main argument they put forward to set themselves apart. As one disciple declared, the RSS is more into political power,

The Sangh Parivar is hardly present in West Bengal. For instance, the VHP held its rst-ever meeting in West Bengal in 2004. The leaders of the Sangh Parivar explained the meagre prescence in the meeting as being due to the left coalition ruling the state since 1977. See VHP to Hold rst-ever Meeting in Red Bastion, The Times of India, 11 June 2004. 24 See, for example, Steel Units Gift to Bharat Sevashram, The Statesman, Kolkata, 20 February 2007. 25 Conversation with different ascetics, Kolkata (January 2007).
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whereas (BSS) is working towards the betterment of all people.26 And to demonstrate its secular basis, the BSS claims that its relief work activities are open to every confession and that since its foundation it has always treated Hindus and Muslims equally.27 If the BSS pretends not to take part in electoral politics, it is not necessarily apolitical in the broad sense of the term. In fact, it is not so much that the BSS is apolitical, but that it considers itself to be above electoral politics. Nevertheless, the BSSs main ritual carries heavy political overtones. Every year in West Bengal, at the full moon of the second month of the Bengali calendar (ma ghi purnima ), disciples gather at the groups headquarters in Kolkata. They attend the anointment (abhis . eka) ceremony whereby Pranavananda is consecrated King of the Hindus. Afterwards, disciples attend a coronation ritual where they remain seated for hours gazing at the god-kings image on its royal seat (sim sana, ra ja sana) while . ha 28 chanting devotional songs. The striking feature of these rituals is the strong political symbolism of a Hindu state (hindura s .t . ra) 29 ruled by a god-king that they convey. Nirmalananda recalls that his gurus life is a foretaste of the future coming of royal rule in India, when Hindu glory and the socio-cosmic order will be restored, and in which religion and politics would not be separate, but encompassed in a larger vision of the world (Nirmalananda 2000b: 68). However, these rituals are not associated with any political demands: Nirmalananda immediately disclaims any contemporary political implication in the organisations aspirations, stressing their inspired nature: they are purely imagined plans (prakalpa) and the Guru himself did not consider them as a political demand of the day (ibid.). This shows us that the BSS considers any struggle in the political sphere to be of an impure nature and that change in society will only come about by an inspired change.
Discussion with a disciple, Bana ras (November 2007). It is seemingly asserted that in 1926 a period marked by increasing communal riots between Hindus and Muslims in West Bengal early members of the movement offered food to people independently of their confession and that a great number of Muslims participated in these bhog offerings (Chakravarty 1992: 232). 28 The description comes from the authors participation in this ceremony on 2 February 2007 in Kolkata. 29 These two rituals suggest that the guru is considered as the ruler of all realms both as a king and a personication of the deity, an association that has always been accepted by the masses in India (Gonda 1956: 36).
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Paradoxically, through its sharp criticism of electoral politics, the BSS has gained great respect from the political elite. Politicians from all parties and at all levels from the national to the local have been aunting themselves at the BSS and have paid tribute to the social work it has organised.30 Even the members of the Communist Party of IndiaMarxist (CPI-M), a party that the Sangh Parivar consider to be its strongest opponent, praise the BSSs social work by stressing its non-political and non-communal stand. In the address he gave at the Annual Celebration Day of BSS in New Delhi on 24 October 2008, Somnath Chatterjee, House Speaker (ex-CPI-M), declared how inspiring the BSSs commitment to secularism and national integration was. He presented the BSS as one of (Indias) greatest socio-religious organizations which propagates the great human values of fraternity, tolerance and inclusiveness in a growing communally polarised environment. He called upon the BSS to remain a secularist force within India. The BSSs commitment to secularism, national unity and harmonious co-existence is more important than ever. Moreover, Chatterjee presented the Bengali group as being a potential actor in the struggle against Hindutva in the state. While some groups work to try to create a chasm between different religious groups, BSS has always remained concerned about Secularism and National Integration, he says.31 Through this comparison, he clearly distinguished between the BSS and the Sangh Parivars associations, and showed that he has established his own distinction between the two movements as put forward by the BSSs renouncers. To a large extent, by strategically avoiding making any political claim but also by refraining itself, unlike the RSSBJP combined, from targeting the communists as anti-Hindus, the BSS has been able to curry political support from a state government known

A tribute that the BSS proudly displays. At its headquarters are photos of politicians presenting awards to the BSS. Among the latter are national leaders from the Congress (Dr Rajendra Prasad, Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Atulya Ghosh, Zail Singh) as well as from the BJP (Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L. K. Advani, Narendra Modi, Arjun Munda). For an online version of some of these photographs see http://www.bsstoronto.org/press.htm/, accessed 7 April 2009. 31 Extracts from the address he gave at the BSS Annual Celebration Day in New Delhi on 24 October 2008. See http://speakerloksabha.nic.in/Speech/ SpeechDetails.asp?SpeechId=283/, accessed 12 April 2009.
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for the rigorous secularism of its politics (Chatterjee 2004: 121; Jaffrelot 1992: 44).32 Every year, the BSS receives large public donations from the West Bengal government and the same amount from public charities, a privilege that Sangh Parivar Hindu groups or any politically motivated in the traditional sense parties do not benet from.33 The Indian administration has also granted the BSS the statutory registrations that exempts it from tax on the donations it receives and authorises it to receive foreign funds.34 Moreover, state agencies collaborate regularly with the BSS. The West Bengal State Health Department often subcontracts the BSS to run health schemes in remote areas.35 As declared by a Bengali administration high-ranking ofcial, the police administration works hand in hand with the BSS to control the masses at pilgrimage sites during religious fairs. In Gangasagar, where over 35 local organisations, associations or committees (samiti, san gha, club) ensure maintenance of the site, the BSS has the most important role after the state government. While West Bengal government erects pilgrim shelters for free accommodation, the BSS ashrams lodge thousands of pilgrims and its volunteers help control the crowd. More importantly, the West Bengal government feels that the BSSs nationalist ideology does not interfere too much with its relief
See Lefts Culture is Only Maligning Hindus, The Indian Express, 21 May 2005. Needless to say, this ofcial position did not prevent disciples from the two groups from entertaining personal links with Sangh Parivar organisations or personalities (Copley 2003: 32). 33 The BSSs main source of funding comes from donations from devotees and public foundations (>$3 millions) but it also receives a large nancial support from the state authorities (>$800,000) (Sangha 2005: 30). Although the BSS is not the only Hindu organisation to receive public donations, if it were to have the slightest political agenda or communal agenda, it would not enjoy such support: in West Bengal, the RSS and VHP organisations do not receive any government donations because of their political stand (interview with Dr Alapan Bandhyopadhyaya [CPI-M], Municipal Commissioner of Calcutta Municipal Corporation, Kolkata (January 2007). 34 See the dispensation under Section 35AC of the Income Tax Act. 35 The State Health Department has, for example, decided to extend the services of ve NGOs, among which is are the Bharat Seva Ashram, to a project on Mobile Health Care Services. This would provide basic healthcare services, including the supply of medicines, in remote areas of the Sunderbans. See Healthcare Project Extended in Mangrove Land, The Statesman, 21 January 2005.
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work.36 It also considers the group as playing an important role in the public life of Bengal.37 While BSS leaders publicly insist on their secular stand, the government administration uses their rhetoric to appoint them as agents of neighbourliness. For example, in some cases, the West Bengal State Government has made use of the BSS to promote communal harmony in the states communally sensitive areas. In Beldanga, Murshidabad district (West Bengal), the Hindu cult to the Goddess of knowledge (sarasvat pu ja ) had been an occasion for regular communal conict. Pradipta nanda, head of the BSSs local ashram, explains that these conicts were caused by drunken Hindu youths who used to interrupt the Muslims religious practices during the immersion ceremony. To prevent any violence, the West Bengal government devised a set of rules and asked the BSS to ensure that they are properly implemented. The BSS thereby ordered Hindu residents in Beldanga to handover their divine images a few days before the actual immersion ceremony. In exchange it organised, supervised and bore the cost of the procession for the latter. Thousands of locals participated, accompanied by groups of musicians and decorated rickshaw-vans carrying their divine images; the immersion ceremony took place in a lake next to the BSS temple. The BSS authorities invited both Hindu and Muslim children to participate and perform (dance, theatre) as part of a cultural programme inside the BSS temple. According to Pradiptananda, all this went towards both restoring (Hindu) cultural values and ensuring the peaceful co-existence of different religions. It has since then been put forward as a fair example of communal harmony.38 The role imputed to the BSS by the West Bengal government is, in fact, paradoxical when one looks at how the BSSs position converges with that of the Sangh Parivar, yet even more so when we look at the BSSs discreet partnership with the Sangh Parivar in other Indian states.
Interview with Dr Alapan Bandhyopadhyaya (CPI-M), Municipal Commissioner, Calcutta Municipal Corporation who supervised the work of the BSS in Gangasagar for nine consecutive years, rst as Additional District Magistrate (19952000) and then as District Magistrate (20002004). 37 BSS monks take full part in Bengals public life. See, for example, Crusader with a Heart of Gold, The Statesman, 31 July 2005. 38 The Statesman, Kolkata, 7 February 2004.
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Muscular Hinduism and Implicit Militancy

Founded in the 1920s in the context of the broader sangathana movement, the BSS has a lot in common with other Hindu militant groups that emerged at the same period in terms of practices as well as in terms of rhetoric. Among these, we nd some of the leading themes of the 1920s Hindu resurgence: activities boosting martial fervour, militant expansion of religious festivals and integration of lower-caste groups into the Hindu fold (Gooptu 2001: 230). Inuenced by the caste consolidation programmes launched chiey under the Hindu Sabha and Hindu Mahasabha, the BSS tries to convert low castes and tribes to Hinduism in order to achieve greater Hindu cohesion and unity. Within the BSS, martial fervour is propagated through Hindu manliness. The groups maxim (san ) which all disciples n . gha va . know by heart and display on placards when making public demonstrations at religious fairs celebrates qualities such as heroism, virility and manliness. Though it was written in the mid-1920s, these different qualities perfectly reect some of the qualities put forth by VHP today.39 This cult of strength can also be seen in the groups various rituals. In the BSS, any pu ja whether the daily pu ja ja to the guru or the annual pu to Durga includes a cult to weapons. Monks perform a frenetic dance (dhu nici) while brandishing weapons a trident (tris u la), sword (khad ga . ) or discus (cakra) accompanied by the sound of drums (dha k) and ritual hymns. However, worshipping physical strength is not limited to the ritual sphere. Proclaiming the need for the Hindu community to master self-defence, the BSS has developed an important programme of martial arts and physical education. It has built fully equipped modern gymnasiums next to almost every ashram, where any Hindu male adult can come and practise body-building on modern machines; it also offers courses on stick-ghting (la thi. 40 khela ) for young boys. All practitioners form what the BSS calls
See for example, the new organisation initiated by the VHP and in which BSS participates called Hindu Solidarity (hindu sam . hati). The motto of this conference is courage (sa akti) and action (sakriata), three hasa), strength (s qualities that we nd in the BSSs 10 divine messages. http://hindusamhati. blogspot.com/, accessed 7 May 2009. 40 The ashrams claim to run 76 centres with fully equipped gymnasia and 55 temples where stick ghting is performed.
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the defence committee (raks l ), a group of Hindu men ready . a da to protect the Hindu community in case of danger (Ashokananda 1995). Hindu power expresses itself through a physically t culture, inverting the 19th-century British ofcials stereotype about Bengali Hindus being cowards and physically weak (Rosselli 1980: 12123). Like the wrestlers akha ra in north India, these gymnasiums provide a social environment where a moral masculine Hindu culture can be disseminated among male village and neighbourhood communities. With as its basic values, celibacy for unmarried young men (or chastity for married men) and vegetarianism, this culture is struggling against the popular hedonism of modern life (Alter 1994b). The BSSs militant agenda is particularly perceptible during its religious festivals. The BSS has transformed them into militant gatherings called great assemblies of Hindu Religion and Culture (Hindu dharma sam ras, for example, it . skr . ti sammelan). In Bana turned the Durga ja Pu into an exceptional Nation-building ritual.41 Not only does its celebration represent one of the citys oldest and largest public pu ja na) both in terms of the number of (sa rvajan people involved and the size of the goddesss image but it is the only one that carries such militant emphasis.42 Besides the actual ritual of worship, the BSS organises a great number of public activja ities. Bringing the goddesss image to its place of worship (pu laya) on the Maha the great seventh day of navara saptam tra and bringing it to the riverbank (gha ta ) for immersion on the 10th day (das am ) are both occasions for impressive and colourful 43 processions. On these occasions, the gendered roles of Hindu nationalism are enacted: one can nd the gures of the Warrior
The description comes from the BSS celebration of Durga ja Pu in Banaras in October 2007. The quotations are from an excerpt from Hindi and Bengali leaets distributed to the crowd on that occasion. Let us note that, on the contrary, the BSS celebrations of Durga ja Pu in Kolkata are not accompanied by ve days of conferences and are carried out with deepest sanctity (Chalila and Gupta 2005: 332). 42 This celebration has been taking place since 1936, and the BSS claims to have rst introduced this Bengali religious festival in the Hindustani city. Though this claim does not stand as historical proof, the BSS certainly holds one of the oldest public pu ja na). See Rodrigues (2003: 2122, 321, n. 51) and Kumar (sa rvajan (1988: 218). 43 In classical iconography, it consists of Durga atop her lion engaged in the act of slaying the buffalo demon Mahis a. She is represented as anked by the four divinities identied as her children: Ganes a and Laks m on her right,
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Monks leading the procession followed by Hindu Soldiers and Chaste Wives (Banerjee 2005). Head-renouncers riding elephants, camels and horses and brandishing weapons are followed by an army of renouncers holding sticks (la thi). Then come boy-troops wearing military outts (stick ghting, sword, etc.) followed by thousands of lay devotees mostly women and children distributing leaets and invitations to a conference to people standing on both sides of the streets. This impressive procession not only asserts the groups presence in the city but also publicly announces the abduction of the religious ceremony for a militant reunion. Not only do the protagonists seem to defend the nation, but they look as if they are the nation. It is well-known that this kind of symbolic activity in the public space has played a signicant role in constructing communalism in colonial northern India (Freitag 1989). The climax of the BSSs Durga ja Pu s celebration in Bana ras takes place at the organisations headquarters when its Hindu defence committee makes a theatrical demonstration of a riot.44 It starts with a tussle between two boys, one dressed in blue and one in a white loincloth (dhoti ). After a few minutes, two other boys join in with the rst one to overpower the second in a very violent manner: they strangle him with two sticks, seize him between them and throw him to the oor; then stamp on his face and body. Other boys join in and yell victory, holding the victim in the air. They leave the stage, the victim acting as if half-dead, alone, lying in the middle of the stage. Then along comes Budhananda, a renouncer and secretarygeneral to the organisation. Armed with a large sword, he starts dancing around the boy in exaltation, holding his arm high and spinning around as if possessed. Suddenly, while the drum beat gets faster, he strikes a heavy blow to the boys stomach: his body starts shaking and blood runs from it. Budhananda resumes his dancing, his sword held high in the air and shouts victory. In the meantime, helpers bring the victims body directly to the nearby medical unit. More than a simple demonstration of martial ability, this ritual clearly displays the BSSs trained youths physical capacity in
Ka on her left. This complex image is typically Bengali. It rttikeya and Sarasvat is made of a single unit, called kahamo topped with a decorated arch (chala). In the non-Bengali image each divinity is made up of a different unit. 44 This celebration takes place on Maha , the last night before the im navam mersion of the icon. On this day the ashram sees the greatest coming together of people because Durga is believed to be fully manifested within the clay image and thus completely accessible to her devotees.

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communal ghts. The whole ritual can be understood as a ritual of provocation. During its proceedings, a renouncer explains over the microphone to the crowd that the ritual reminds Hindus that worship is not only giving incense, owers, bilva leaves, or crying before the Goddess but that the main aim of Durga s worship is to achieve victory and kill the enemy. Only such worship of strength aktipu (S ja ) according to Pranavanandas ideal is able to destroy Demon Power. The cult of the Mother Goddess is seen here as a symbol of martial strength and prowess. Beyond any spiritual vigour, it is the idea of a muscular and martial Hinduism that is put to the fore. By converting this religious metaphor into a riot between two gangs of young Indians, the BSS seems to acknowledge that the enemy lies within the nation and should be conquered by brute force. Though mention is never made of Muslims or Christians, all these allusions suggest that it is the non-Hindus who are the real enemy. In fact, the strength of the scene lies in its ambiguity. Although it is mere play-acting, it involves a real mastery of group violence, and the apparent violent frenzy makes it differ totally from the usual martial ability displayed by the young man in the group.45 In fact, the audience had been warned that it was for real and that it could cause injury involving the shedding of blood. By this play-acting, not only does the BSSs defence committee show their perfect mastery of stick ghting, but they display their ability to undertake violent collective action in the event of riots. In the knowledge that when the disciple undertakes initiation he makes the pledge to protest against () any injustice done to any Hindu, even at the cost of (his) life, this demonstration implicitly afrms the readiness of youths trained by the BSS to participate in rioting if the situation so requires.46 The same inferred political symbolism is again used the following day. At the immersion ceremonywhich takes place on Das a vamedhagha s ta, the citys most popular central riverbank site (gha t . a) the BSS renouncers deliver discourses with a heavy militant undertone to the thousands of people attending the ceremony.
When they display their ability, all the participants greet each other by tapping the others hand before and after the combat. It is not allowed to hit the feet, and hits are exchanged with precision as if respecting a pre-planned choreography. 46 Let us note that, traditionally, the violence means that the Goddess must be fed with blood from a sacricial victim, usually a goat, which is nothing like an enemy (Togawa 2006: 138).
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Using the typical discourse on security that offered the forces of Hindutva as a tool to legitimise violence as non-violence (Anand 2005), Jivatmananda, a BSS renouncer calls upon Hindus to be strong and to cultivate their power to resist Christians and Muslims.47 Referring directly to the Ra mi issue for which the BSS shared a mjanma bhu common platform with the BJP (Shah 2001: 252), he underlines the threat made to Hindus religious sites.48 Providing a nationalist interpretation of the worship of the Mother Goddess, Jivatma nanda assimilates the goddess Durga with the Hindu nation. The clay image represents Durga s embodiment as the nation and its class (varn . a) system: Sarasvat , the goddess of learning, is said to represent the bra hmanas; Ka rttikeya, the god of war, represents the ks . atriyas; Laks , the goddess of wealth and good fortune represents the . m vais ya class and its specic power (dhara); and Ganes a, the Lord of Obstacles who is propitiated before laborious undertakings, represents the s u dras or what he calls the common people. Durga integrates all these varn . as, providing a balanced and harmonious 49 image of nationhood. While the BSS policy is to remain separate from the Sangh Parivar, leaders of both groups do, in fact, maintain cordial relations with each other. Top-ranking leaders of the Sangh Parivar, including

It must be recalled that the denegation of violence, from which this discourse proceeds, is deep-rooted in the Hindu tradition. Extreme acts of violence committed in specic contexts or by legitimated actors are not considered as violence. Such is the case of the Brahmin in the sacricial context (Biardeau 2003), the king or the avata ra in the context of preserving dharma (ClmentinOjha 2003) or even the ascetic while combating (Bouillier 2003). For an overall perspective on violence and non-violence in India see Vidal et al. (eds) 2003. 48 We (the ascetics) travelled from village to village and we saw a decline of Hindus. () We hundreds crores of Hindus, our Gods do not have their houses, they had to leave their houses. What is the reason for this? This is an example of our cowardliness! There is need for unity to set up our Gods at their rightful place! India today is ruled by demons. Though it is not specied whom the word demons designates, this sentence provokes a great amount of applause within the crowd and ululu from women. It could be either reference to political corruption or to low castes accessing power. 49 See also the BSSs Durga ja Pu s leaet: The mission (neibeda) of the worship of the goddess is to assemble (milan) and unite (lit. the bonding of a community) (san ghabandhata) millions of Hindus (koi koi). The brochure also afrms that the real form of the Goddess is Hindu society. Millions of Hindus will wake up and unify that is the symbol of the waking (bodhana) of the Goddess.
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former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, are regular visitor to the BSSs ashrams, while the BSSs renouncers often attend RSS functions.50 As Vidyananda explains, it is a matter of cordiality: we know what each other does and invite each other to our respective celebrations. Although he acknowledges the differences between the BSS and RSS, he also emphasises their unity. We are Hindu brothers (Hindu bha ): although we are different, we share many ideas, we nd each other in different places and we respect each others work, we are both Hindus. Both groups attend common conferences and Svastika , the RSSs Bengali weekly publication, is available in all the BSSs ashrams and schools.51 However, in some cases, cordial relations lead to close collaboration between the RSSVHP and BSS. Not only does this occur occasionally, usually in times of natural disasters, for relief work purposes,52 but it also happens on a regular basis in a few BSS infrastructures within which Sangh Parivar agents operate. RSS training (s a kha ) units and VHP programmes for conversion (parivartana) to Hinduism have allegedly been seen to operate in BSS temples or BSS schools at various places around India and abroad.53 In both cases, on behalf of the BSS administration, the renouncers in charge deny such links.54
These common meetings are not secret as evidenced by the presence of BSS monks at Golwalkars birth centenary celebrations organised by the BSS in 2006 with their chief, K. S. Sudarshan. See, for example, RSS Chief Calls to Foil Evil Designs of Maoists, The Hindustan Times, 23 April 2007. 51 For the online version of Svastika , http://www.eswastika.com/, accessed 4 June 2009. 52 In 2005, during relief work in the tsunami-affected areas, the Seva Bharati, the RSS mission, announced that the BSS was working under its coordination: thus, the BSS appeared to be part of the Sangh Parivar. Ofcial website of the RSS, accessed January 2009. 53 To my knowledge, at least, two BSS schools or temples serve as training centres for the RSS: in India, the high school run by the Bharat Sevashram Sangh in Diamond Harbour (South 24 Parganas, West Bengal) and in the USA, the Minnesota Hindu Milan Mandir (Eagan, Minnesota) through the RSSs American branch (American Branch-H.S.S.). The Pluralism Project at Harvard University [www.pluralism.org] shows us the history and activities of the ashram. Concerning the VHPs conversion programme see Conversion Yagna with Sangh Blessings, The Telegraph, 23 August 2002. 54 Jivananda, the head of the ashram, denies the implication of its organisation in this conversion, saying he hosted it at the VHPs request, but did not organise it. VHP Reconversion Drive in West Bengal, The Hindustan Times, 23 August 2002. Information concerning the RSS branch working inside BSS places has been taken from a discussion with Purnananda, Kolkata, February 2007.
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They emphasise the BSSs independence and claim that any link is only the consequence of cordial relations between the BSS and Sangh Parivar. According to these representatives, the BSS merely provides the VHP with a place from where it can undertake action, but in no way can it be held responsible for the acts committed by the VHP on its premises. In this sense, the BSSs militancy is not explicit, but constantly suggested and denied. It is only at the local level and, more particularly, in the proSangh Parivar states that any mutual cooperation is acknowledged. A few cases of overlapping membership between the RSS and BSS exist, as well as some witness accounts of converting to Hinduism in exchange for a free education at BSS schools. But in pro-Sangh Parivar states, the BSS renouncers openly assert their partnership with Sangh Parivar. In Gujarat, where the BSS has been active since the 1970s,55 only after the rise of the BJP in the state and its accession to power in 1995 has the organisation stood rmly on the side of the Sangh Parivar. Reports say that during the 1991 House of the People (Lok Sabha) and the 1995 Assembly elections its leaders issued a public appeal to Hindus to vote for the BJP, a party that they claimed works to protect their interest (Shah 2004: 252). Later, in 2004, the BSS directly associated itself with the VHP to transform the yearly processions celebrating the birth of Kr ) s tam .s .n . a (Kr .s .n . a janma .. into a national security promotional venue. Ganeshananda, secretary of the BSS ashram in Ahmedabad, together with Ashwin Patel, the VHPs city secretary, explained in a joint press conference that their newly created alliance the BSS had been organising this celebration since 1979 separately from the VHP was necessary because the country and the (Hindu) religion (was) under threat from all quarters. The two organisations decided to unite and pay homage not to Kr lakr .s .n . a the child (ba .s .n . a) nor to Kr .s .n . a the cowherd who plays the ute (Kr s n a gopa la ), but to Kr s n .. . . . . a the avata ana cakradha ) who, armed with his disc, ra: the ghter (sudars r fought people who were against dharma. This, they argued, would inspire people to ght elements that are against (Hindu) religion and (India). By portraying Krishna not as a bonny baby in a cradle but as a tough guy wielding the powerful sudars ana cakra, they

It owns a popular ashram in the state capital, Ahmedabad, an average high school with a boys dormitory, medical clinic, mobile units and guesthouse. It became known for its relief work during the Gujarat earthquake.
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clearly militated for an offensive Hinduism and the procession clearly illustrated the union between the two organisations: it left the BSS ofce in direction of the VHP ofce and returned to the BSS ofce by evening. Moreover, Narendra Modi then Gujarat chief minister known for his rm pro-Hindutva stand himself headed the whole procession. In some cases, the BSS seemed to approve the Sangh Parivars communal rhetoric and even some of the communal clashes it led to. During a joint press conference with the VHP in Gujarat, the BSSs Gujarat secretary denounced the central governments decision to set up a high-level panel to probe the Godhra train carnage which triggered riots between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat, as being a politically-motivated move. He accused the central government of going after Hindus. This declaration, in fact, seems to contradict the BSSs ofcial stand of non-political involvement as well as its condemnation of any communal clashes.56 Similarly, when at the end of the Kr .s .n .a janma procession, the BSS offered an idol of the god s .t . am Kr an cakradha ), to r .s .n . a, armed as in its warrior image (sudars Narendra Modi, it may be interpreted as a pledge of allegiance to the controversial Gujarat chief minister and principal politician responsible for the clashes.

Conclusion
This article has shown that while provocative speeches hinting at an unspecified enemy may appear to have brought the BSS close to HindiHindu nationalism, they have also been an attempt to promote a Bengali, linguistic and regional variety of muscular Hinduism, drawing on the early 20th centurys political project of recovery of physical prowess. Very much rooted in the Bengali setting and culture in which it was born, this militant form of Hinduism has been able to gather a large following in West Bengal not only through organised social services but also through a wellplanned organisation of major pilgrimage sites for Hindu Bengalis. Moreover, through its policy of non-involvement in electoral politics it has avoided controversies and has gained nancial support from national and state authorities. It nowadays holds the rank of one of the most celebrated Hindu institutions for the modern Bengali elite.
Macho Krishna to Boost VHP Image!, The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 3 September 2004.
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BSSs misgivings about its place within the Sangh Parivar enables it to play a pivotal role in the entrenchment of Hindutva in West Bengal. Being independent in terms of organisation, nance and membership, it follows its own institutional logic and sets itself aside from Sangh Parivar organisations. Thus, in some cases it can be seen as the latters main competitor. In West Bengal it has, in fact, been able to occupy the public space that neither the RSS nor the VHP have been able to occupy despite their many efforts to penetrate the state. However, when necessary, it does in fact negotiate a partnership with these same organisations. In other contexts, the BSS can be seen to collaborate actively with them, although always implicitly: as we can see, the dividing line between selfprotection and active organisation of rioting is not always clear. By never openly committing itself to violence, by denying any link with the Sangh Parivar and keeping its militant tendency in its implicit form, quite paradoxically, the BSS has been able to gain wide support in West Bengal, while at the same time partly promoting an ideology that the state government has always vehemently rejected. It nowadays serves as a vital mediator between the government and the Sangh Parivars Hindu core groups. Depending on the party in power, it can be seen and/or utilised either to promote Hindutva or to resist it. This demonstrates the decisive role of the political will to promote or obstruct Hindutva entrenchment in India or not.

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