We have heard of Rahul Gandhi’s “atom bombs”, first in relation to Mahadevpura constituency, and then Aland constituency, both in Karnataka. And we are now waiting with bated breath for his “hydrogen bomb.”But let us in the meantime also talk a little about his Napalm bomb – a clever appeal to the Hindu sentiments.The general impression, largely created by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)- Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) variety of ideologue, is that the BJP (earlier the Bharatiya Jana Sangh) is the real champion of Hindu-centric politics in India. The Congress, on the other hand, is an apologist for Muslim interests, which helps it garner the Muslim vote. This binary is too simplistic. Both play the Hindu card but in different ways: the BJP is crude; the Congress is subtle.I will make my argument in two steps. I will first discuss two case studies, one, the passage of the Hindu Code in 1955-56, and two, the handling of migrations from East Pakistan to Assam in the 1950s and 1960s. I will then probe Rahul Gandhi’s politics through the same prism.Opposing the uniform Hindu codeHindu-centric politics surfaced clearly during the passage of the four Hindu personal law-related bills, which were collectively called the Hindu Code. The Code had been drafted by the then law minister B.R. Ambedkar (a Dalit) and met immediate opposition not only from RSS-Jana Sangh supporters, but also from many of the Congress’ upper caste politicians.The Congress leaders who opposed the idea included eminent figures such as Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Madan Mohan Malaviya, K.N. Katju, Anantasayanam Ayyangar, and Pattabhi Sitaramayya.So vociferous was the internal political opposition that even Nehru, a diehard secularist, had to compromise. Sensing the adverse political climate, he coolly shelved the idea of a uniform Hindu Code and instead adopted a circuitous route to pass not just the four bills individually but also the Special Marriage Act of 1954. Although Nehru alienated Ambedkar, his trusted Law Minister, it also demonstrated his political genius. Politics, after all, is the art of the possible.The point here is a simple one. The Congress (barring Nehru) in those days was no less Hindu chauvinistic than the RSS or the Jana Sangh. Whether the cause was cow protection or championing Hindi over Urdu, Congress leaders at the district level left little room for Hindutva forces to steal the show.East Pakistani migrations to AssamA careful analysis of migration from East Pakistan to Assam will reveal that from day one Congress governments at the central and state levels (of undivided Assam) were biased in favour of Hindu migrants. Although Muslim migrants also arrived in large numbers, largely in search of economic opportunities, they were treated much more poorly.It was logical and expected of the Congress to do so given the communal background of the partition of India. But unlike Hindu nationalists, the Congress played its cards rather quietly, while claiming to maintain its larger constitutional commitment to secularism as a state ideology.Following the 1951 Census, Hindu migrants to Assam were recognised as ‘refugees’, whereas their Muslim counterparts were branded as ‘illegal immigrants’ or ‘foreigners’. The Immigrant (Expulsions from Assam) Act of 1950 had already made this distinction explicit. Most notably, although the Act was repealed in 1957, the Government of India issued a secret administrative order in 1965 that authorised district magistrates in the state to grant Indian citizenship to Hindu refugees from East Pakistan who had settled in Assam for six months or more.The abhaya mudraDuring Manmohan Singh’s premiership, the Congress got distanced from its political moorings because the emphasis was primarily on the economy. No wonder, then, that after the Manmohan Singh years the Congress lost the plot to the BJP. Rahul Gandhi’s innovative mass politics can thus be read as an attempt to regain those political moorings, using a Gandhian strategy of mixing higher level religiosity with grass roots contacts.The BJP is an extremely astute political party endowed with highly capable political strategists. They have not missed the point. It is not for nothing that the party continues to spend hundreds of crores of rupees in an attempt to reduce Rahul to a ‘pappu’.And yet, he remains the only political leader in India today who has the guts to challenge the RSS head on. A key element of this challenge is his frequent use of the Abhaya Mudra.Rahul has displayed the Abhaya Mudra again and again in Parliament as well as elsewhere to reassure all that BJP is not to be feared. Just by adopting this simple posture he is able to successfully encompass the religious iconography of 80% of India.Whether it is Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, Lord Ganesh, or the Buddha, the Abhaya Mudra is common to them all. Given the all-powerful image of Hindutva that the BJP-RSS has been able to create, Rahul Gandhi must have thought that his first and foremost task is to reassure the forces opposed to the BJP-RSS that the combo is not invincible.Essence of Rahul’s politicsBorn of a half-Hindu, half-Parsi father and a Catholic mother, Rahul knows that he suffers from a handicap in the religion-centric landscape of Indian politics. To overcome this handicap, he has taken recourse to two strategies. First, he has sought to establish himself as a devout Shaivite.Well-advertised visits to eminent Shiva temples, where he prominently displays sandalwood or vermilion marks on his forehead, and the wearing of white common to devotees visiting temples are all meant to mark him out as a sincere Hindu. Having descended from the oldest political family of India it is unthinkable that these actions are casual or innocent.Hinduism is broadly viewed in the binary of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, although Shakti puja (of mother Durga-Kali) and animism too have a huge presence in many parts. Lord Ram, although an avatar of Vishnu and extremely popular in the Hindi-speaking north, does not historically belong to either of these philosophical streams.It is the BJP that has through its Ram janmabhoomi (birthplace) movement given Ram an explicitly political colour, something He was not otherwise associated with in the past.Besides its philosophical appeal, Shaivism enjoys tremendous popular adherence across India and offers a way to counter the Hindu right’s politicisation of Ram. At the very least, it dilutes the BJP’s characterisation of Rahul as a spurious Hindu, if not an outright atheist or agnostic.Second, Rahul has actively courted OBCs and marginalised castes. He has realised that upper caste Hindus are overwhelmingly in favour of the BJP and their return to the Congress fold is unlikely. The best way to counter this is to appeal to other sections of Indian society.His video graphed visits to the homes of marginalised people such as cobblers and farmers and others are cleverly orchestrated political theatre. Another key element of this strategy is Rahul’s commitment to a nationwide caste census. The BJP has not taken this lightly, if its recent commitment to similar effect is an indication.The battle lines have been drawn.Partha S. Ghosh is a retired professor, JNU.