As an individual, I have been associated with the RSS, ABVP and BJP for more than 40 years. From the controversy over the renaming of Marathwada University in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (previously Aurangabad) to the vexed issue of quota for the underprivileged, from the 1982-83 movement led by Bal Thackeray against Babasaheb Ambedkar’s writings in The Riddle of Rama and Krishna and the RSS’s vocal opposition to that movement, I have witnessed how the Sangh leadership had adroitly handled scores of issues with a firm commitment to its total opposition to caste-based discrimination.
As per my understanding, there are at least three key aspects of the RSS’s approach to castes. First, its unequivocal support to quota for the socially marginalised. Second, its emphasis on ensuring that social justice is reflected in our day-to-day conduct. And third, its approach towards smaller identities as an inseparable part of a larger identity.
However, the overarching philosophy guiding the RSS’s approach to all these vexed issues associated with the caste question is that of samajik samarasata or social harmony. In the RSS scheme of things, the term adds significant value to the idea of social equality. It is more meaningful as it connotes not just intellectual acceptance for equality and justice, but also emotional participation in the process with an emphasis on sharing and caring. Samarasata, to me, is all about emotional integration. It is about a sense of belonging (to the entire society), about making every social group feel that the entire society needs every marginalised group and values its contribution. Samarasata is more about empathy than just sympathy.
But make no mistake. This emphasis is not for the sake of emotions alone. It aims to complement our intellectual conviction and commitment to social justice. Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s decision to rename the social welfare ministry as social justice ministry was not for no reason. Besides, this element of emotions makes social equality not just an egalitarian value, but a matter of experiential harmony.
As pointed out by Ram Madhav in a blog, “Samata is equality in thoughts; samaanta is equality in law; but samarasata is equality of emotions and feelings. For achieving samarasata—social harmony, to put it simply—fraternity is the basic requirement.” Madhav further brings to our notice that, “Buddha, Mahavir, Basaveshwara, Kanakadasa, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Narayana Guru, Dayananda Saraswati, Tilak, Gandhi, Ambedkar, Savarkar, Jyotiba Phule—endless is the list of great men who have sacrificed their lives in the pursuit of achieving the lofty ideal of social harmony.”
Way back in 1982, at a grand RSS conclave in Pune, the then Sar-Sanghchalak Balasaheb Deoras said without mincing words that if untouchability is not a sin, there is no sin on earth, and hence this social evil has to go lock, stock and barrel. The same kind of unambiguity was again witnessed when the present Sar-Sanghchalak, Mohanrao Bhagwat, repeatedly stated that quotas for the SC, ST and OBCs will have to continue uninterrupted.
As recently as April, he said, “The RSS had always stood for reservation, as sanctioned and guaranteed under the Constitution, and that the organisation believed reservation should continue as long as it was necessary for those who needed it, provided it was for reasons of backwardness and lack of parity in terms of their living or social standing.”
He elaborated, “We kept our own fellow human beings behind in the social system. We did not care for them and it continued for 2,000 years. Until we provide them equality, some special remedies have to be there, and reservation is one of them.” All in all, there is no scope for even an iota of doubt about the Sangh’s unequivocal support for quota.
Social equality and justice are principles that are supremely important and hence nobody can oppose. However, many who principally agree with these values fail to practice them with all sincerity. Many RSS-inspired organisations may not be passing resolutions or giving sermons on these principles. But their commitment to these values is often reflected in their conduct.
When Mahatma Gandhi and later Ambedkar visited RSS camps, they were satisfied that in the RSS, castes or details of social background are neither asked nor given any importance. Many in the RSS make a conscious effort to identify with underprivileged sections. During the birth centenary of Ambedkar some 23 years earlier, many in the RSS ensured that a portrait of Ambedkar adorned their homes. Many, like Girish Prabhune of Pune, have been untiringly working for the upliftment of the Paradhis and similar denotified, nomadic tribal communities.
In the late 1980s, the RSS emphasis on building bridges was taken to such an extent that Texas Gaikwad, a Dalit Marathi playwright who had written a play depicting RSS volunteers as murderers of the nation, was approached and a dialogue was established to discuss prejudices and misgivings. In 1982-83, when many Hindu leaders including Bal Thackerey demanded a ban on Ambedkar’s book, Riddle of Ram, the RSS-BJP refrained from seeking such a ban.
The RSS has its own way of explaining the relationship of castes and communities with the entire society. The approach is that, like all parts of the body, every section is important and all of them are interdependent too. Like the relationship of a body part with the entire body, every section of society relates with the society at large. This relationship is simultaneously related mutually as well as with the entire body. Hence the very question of a superiority-inferiority conflict is resolved with this interdependence, complemented by the spirit of co-working and mutuality.
Significantly, when it comes to samarasata, the RSS has always refrained from just tokenism. Organisations trying to wear social equality on their sleeves do a huge disservice to the cause. Samarasata is a silent revolution that emerged out of the thinking of the RSS leadership. Here, intellectual integrity and commitment are complemented by an element of emotionality. While equality could be just superficial and short-lived, samarasata is more profound and enduring with its focus on conduct and emotions. It has become the RSS’s own way of doing away with hypocrisy and lip service.
(Views are personal)
(vinays57@gmail.com)