NEW DELHI: The RSS on Thursday said that it backed the caste census but with social harmony and unity intact. The move comes days after a senior functionary expressed his views against the caste census, a demand being reiterated by the opposition.
Sunil Ambekar, RSS All India publicity in-charge, issued a statement in this regard after Lalu Prasad’s RJD had termed it and the BJP as anti-backward with negative ideologies. In the statement, Ambekar said that Sangh Parivar was not against any census but such an exercise must be used to achieve “overall development of society” while ensuring that no harm was caused to social harmony and unity of the country.
“Recently, a discussion around caste census has started again. We are of the view that it must be used for the holistic progress of the society. While doing so, all the parties concerned must ensure that social harmony and integrity is not disturbed,” the statement read.
“RSS has continuously been making efforts and striving to achieve the goal of creating a Hindu society based on harmony and social justice with no discrimination and disparity. It is true that due to different historical reasons, various sections of the society have been left lagging behind economically, socially and educationally. The governments have introduced schemes and special provisions for the development and empowerment of such sections from time to time, and the RSS fully supports such measures,” Ambekar added.
On Tuesday, RSS Sahasanghchalak for the Vidarbha region Shridhar Gadge had said that a caste census may benefit only some people politically as it would provide data about the population of a certain caste, but it would not be desirable socially in terms of national unity. “There should be no caste-based census. In any case, what will it achieve?” Gadge had told reporters.
“A caste census will quantify caste-wise populations. But it is not going to be in the interest of society or the nation,” he had said. The demand of caste census was one of the major poll planks of the Opposition in the recently concluded assembly elections in five states.