Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad

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Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad ( ABRRP , or RRP for short , Hindi अखिल भारतीय राम राज्य परिषद , " All India Council for the Rule of Rama ") was a Hindu nationalist party in India . It was founded shortly after independence in 1948. The party achieved its greatest success in the first all-India parliamentary elections in 1951/52 . After that, their political weight decreased and in the 1960s some of their officials joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh ("Jan Sangh"), the forerunner of today's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The party has not played a major role since then. Among all the major Hindu nationalist organizations (alongside Hindu Mahasabha , Jan Sangh and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ) in the early years of the Indian Republic, RRP held the most conservative views.

Party history

The rising sun - the election symbol on ballot papers that Ram Rajya Parishad had received from the Indian Election Commission in the all-India election in 1951/52

The party was founded in 1948 by Swami Karpatri, a north Indian Hindu monk and ascetic. The leadership of the party was very much shaped by representatives of former ruling princely dynasties and zamindars . Before the first parliamentary elections in 1951/52 , RRP published a 40-page election manifesto. A Western observer wrote of this manifesto:

“In trying to familiarize yourself with the principles of the Parishad , one has to read large parts of the 1951 manifesto before realizing that the organization is a political party. This document is crammed with Sanskrit quotes, moral exhortations, metaphysical subtleties and even arguments for the existence of God . "

- Donald E. Smith : India as a Secular State, (Princeton, 1963), pp. 464f

In the election manifesto, the “good old days” of Rama’s rule were invoked: “In the blessed times of Lord Rama’s rule, all citizens were content, happy, strived for education and turned to religion. [...] All were honest, none stingy; no one was unkind and no one lacked prudence; and above all, nobody was an atheist. Everyone followed the path of religion. ”The modern world has deviated from it, but“ Secular materialism does not have the power to bring about a state of permanent bliss. ”The Indian constitution that came into force last year is a patchwork that is slavishly based on Western models and none of its parts is an expression of Indian culture. The constitution must therefore be completely replaced. The new constitution should guarantee religious freedom and the people should be governed according to the principle of Dharma . The orthodox and conservative-traditionalist stance of RRP was particularly evident on the question of the caste system . While Jan Sangh, Mahasabha and RSS rejected the caste system to different degrees and condemned the discrimination against the Dalits , RRP spoke out in favor of improving the position of the Dalits, but not against the caste system. The caste system with its division according to social status and occupational groups is necessary and useful for an orderly social coexistence. As a measure to improve the situation of the Dalits, the RRP suggested employment in leather processing or in sanitary facilities, since these jobs were traditionally rejected as "unclean" by higher castes. Furthermore, the RRP advocated a complete ban on the slaughter of cows and the consumption of alcohol. RRP particularly agitated against the reform of Hindu personal law, which was pursued in several laws ( Hindu Code Bills ) by the Nehru government in the 1950s.

In the elections of 1951/52 to the all-India parliament and the parliaments of the federal states, the Hindu nationalist parties (Jan Sangh, Mahasabha and RRP) campaigned largely for the same electorate. RPP was recognized as a “ national party ” by the Indian Electoral Commission and ran in 61 constituencies. The party received 2.0% of the vote nationwide and won 3 of 401 constituencies or 489 seats (all in Rajasthan ). She achieved the highest percentage of votes in Madhya Bharat (14.3%), Rajasthan (9.4%) and Ajmer (7.6%). In the elections to the state parliaments, the party won a total of 32 constituencies (24 in Rajasthan, 3 in Madhya Pradesh , 2 each in Madhya Bharat and Vindhya Pradesh , and one in Bihar ). In the following elections in 1957 and 1962 , the proportion of votes and seats decreased significantly (0.38% and 0.6%) and the party only counted more as a " federal party ". In 1957 she won no mandate and in 1962 two (in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan). In Rajasthan, the party lost voters mainly to the newly formed Swatantra party . By their opponents, especially from Nehru's Congress Party , the party was viewed as reactionary- obscurantist , anti-democratic and as a political vehicle for members of the ruling castes from the old princely states .

After the 1962 election, the party organization largely disbanded from RRP and part of the management staff switched to Jan Sangh.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Donald Eugene Smith: India as a Secular State. Princeton University Press, Princeton, or Oxford University Press, Oxford & Bombay, 1963 digitized , original quote: “In attempting to assertain the principles of the Parishad one must read through much of its 1951 manifesto before discovering that the organization is a political party . The Document is replete with Sanskrit quotation, moral exhortations, metaphysical subtleties and even arguments for the existence of God. "
  2. ^ Myron Weiner: Party Politics in India. Chapter 8: The Background of Hindu Communalism. Princeton University Press 1957, LC Card 57-5483, p. 174. The ending in the English quote: “... All were truthful. None was close-fisted; none was rude; none lacked prudence; and above all, none was atheist. All followed the path of religion. "
  3. ↑ James G. Lochtefeld: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: NZ. Rosen Pub Group (December 2001), ISBN 0823931803 . P. 563
  4. ↑ Ramachandra Guha: Reforming the Hindus. July 18, 2004, accessed October 1, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Ramachandra Guha: India After Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy. Harper Perennial; Edition: Reprint (August 12, 2008). ISBN 0060958588 . [1]
  6. ^ Election Results - Full Statistical Reports. Indian Election Commission, accessed October 1, 2016 (English, election results of all Indian elections to the Lok Sabha and the parliaments of the states since independence).
  7. ↑ Craig Baxter: Jana Sangh: A Biography of an Indian Political Party. Oxford University Press, Delhi - Calcutta - Bombay - Madras, 1971, pp. 78/79