By?Akhila Anand
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh?s Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday called upon his fellow swayamsevaks to work towards eradicating untouchability, caste differences and disparity in India. He emphasised the importance of continuing to implementing such measures until equality is achieved. The RSS chief was addressing party members in Jaipur?s Chitrakoot stadium, where the organisation has set up its popular music programme, ‘Swar Govind Samaroh’.
This programme was attended by Vasundhara Raje, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Raje?s presence helped put to rest the rumours that the RSS was no longer supporting him. Apart from classical Indian music, the event also included a band of 1200 RSS soldiers marching across a 6 km stretch adorned in rangoli. Raje also honoured martyrs? widows and mothers at the event and condemned the ideas that underpin social inequality as foreign imports.
Inequality and its remedies
During his address, the RSS chief termed casteism and untouchability as misfortunes which are still prevalent in the country. He sought support for remedies which will aid in eradicating these sources of inequality. Bhagwat specifically pointed out that there are specific provisions in the Constitution which lead to the backward sections of society being given certain benefits over others. When these measures are implemented properly, he argued, they can lead to the empowerment of the backward classes, and so they should be maintained until equality is achieved.
Linking this to the issue of foreign rule, Bhagwat stated that foreigners had succeeded in invading India in the past only because of internal conflict and that such mistakes should not be repeated in future. He observed that the concept of discrimination did not exist in India before the foreign invasions of the last thousand years, which is clear from the fact that the Vedas do not mention it.
Hindu culture is the way forward
Bhagwat concluded his speech by reiterating the RSS ideology: that Hinduism is a culture and way of life that belongs to everyone, and that the only path to Indian prosperity is through that Hindu way of life.
This speech was consonant with his previous speeches, such as an address he gave in Hyderabad earlier this year in which he emphasized the evil of discrimination and how it is the demand of the hour is to eradicate it. This line appears to be Bhagwat?s strategy to mobilize more people to support the objectives of the RSS.
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