In its first formal reaction to the controversy over the caste census proposed by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other members of the opposition INDIA bloc ahead of the recent assembly elections in five states, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said on Thursday that it is against any “division” and has been working towards a discrimination-free Hindu society.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has frequently stated that Hindu society should be devoid of “caste discrimination”. He has also iterated that Hindu society has faced challenges like religious conversion due to caste discrimination and untouchability. However, the organisation aligned with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had not come up with an official statement after key opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi proposed a caste census in the country.
In a press statement on Thursday, Sunil Ambekar, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh (national spokesperson) of the Sangh, said, “The RSS is against any division in society and is working towards a Hindu society without any discrimination and with social justice for all. We are of the opinion that it should be used for the overall development of society and while doing it, all the parties should ensure that social harmony and unity are not broken for any reason. It was true that because of various historical reasons, many sections of society remained economically, socially, and educationally backward.”
Even as the Congress promised Bihar-like caste surveys once voted to power in the recent assembly polls, senior RSS functionaries called it a ploy to divide Hindus. However, the caste census as a poll plank seems to have fallen flat with the BJP’s victory in the heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan.
In October, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar released findings of its much-awaited caste survey, months ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections, which revealed that OBCs and EBCs constitute a whopping 63 per cent of the state’s population. Backward-class politicians have long claimed that the population of castes they represent number far more than the conventional wisdom based on the 1931 census, which was the last time a caste headcount was conducted and data released.
A senior RSS functionary said, “We do not have problems with people coming from economically weaker sections availing government benefits. But for that, the government has the relevant data. During the census, the enumerators asked about one’s caste, but caste data was never released. The Congress governments in power at the Centre and in states also chose not to release such data. Why did the Congress not conduct caste surveys in the states where it was in power? This is nothing but a divisive agenda.”
Comments
0 comment