 Tech and Auto Awards

 Opinion by KN Govindacharya | Why Ambedkar Came Very Close to RSS

 When Mamata Banerjee Openly Revolted Against Congress On Day of Sonia Gandhi’s Formal Entry
 From Practically Defunct to a Political Force: Congress Scripting Revival in Telangana Under Ex-IAF Pilot
 'The Manufactured Man is Here Again': Why 'Unreal' Rajinikanth Overweighs Every Bollywood Star
PrevNext

NEWS18 » OPINION

6-MIN READ

Opinion by KN Govindacharya | Why

Ambedkar Came Very Close to RSS
At many places Dalits have risen through the ranks in
Sangh. At some places they are also serving as Prant
Prachaaraks. But we don’t go out of our way to find out
their numbers.
KN Govindacharya |
Updated:April 14, 2018, 8:45 AM IST

Illustration by Mir Suhail/News18.com

Top 10 Windows Antivirus 2018 - Who's Raked #1?

Tiffany & Co Stuns With Unparalleled Creativity Again!

lifestyleasia.com
Before understanding the contribution of Sangh in dealing with the question
of caste in India, let us look at another cadre-based organisation and
understand how and where it failed.

The Marxists started their work in this country by working with the
downtrodden, oppressed, and deprived sections of the country. To work with
the poorest of the poor was their self-professed political objective.

They reached out to the masses and began their training by ‘de-classing’
them. Marxists had to learn not to belong to any specific ‘class’ of the
society. And through their work they were undoubtedly able to gather a
substantial Dalit following over the years.

Kerala is a good example. Here the Ezhava community, which had faith in
Narayana Guru, over time started believing in the Left as well. Together with
the communists, the Ezhavas challenged the authority of the upper-caste
‘Nair’ community, patronised traditionally by Congress.

But Ezhavas warmed up the idea of communists not because they had
specifically set out to support the Dalit community. The communists got their
support in their larger cause of class-struggle.

Let’s take another example. Financially, the most deprived in India are
landless labourers. Their condition is abysmal when compared to the richest
section of the society. Marxists will not tire of emphasising this class divide
and will repeatedly promise their support to this most deprived section of the
society. But this is only half the truth.
The other half is that 70% of these landless labourers are Dalits. Being a Dalit
landless labourer is worse than being a just landless labourer. This is a
distinction that the Left has never understood or acknowledged.

Marxists are one of the many cadre based organisations in this country that
have always evaded the question of caste in our society.

The financial disparity — the divide between the rich and the poor — has
only come about in India in the last few decades. But the social divide in our
society — the hierarchy of caste — is a millennia old problem.

Burying one’s head in sand and pretending that this huge social disparity
doesn’t exist will not yield anything. Marxists never understood this. ‘De-
classing’ people was not enough.

Sangh has its own understanding of this issue. Since everyone is born from
the same God, we believe, we cannot consider one inferior to the other. It was
at our behest that Hindu saints, following the Meenakshipuram conversions,
had proclaimed.

(Thousands of Dalits converted to Islam in Tamil Nadu’s Meenakshipuram in

1981)

“Hindavaha Sodaraha Sarvey

Na Hindu Patito Bhavet

Mama Deeksha Hindu Raksha

Mama Mantra Samaanata

(All Hindus are brothers

No Hindu is inferior

My duty is to protect Hindus

Equality is my motto)”

This is the training that we received in our Shakhas. The very social reform
that we have been bringing to this country deals with the issue of caste on a
fundamental basis.

Treating the fellow swayamsewak as a brother is one of the initial principles

taught at the Shakhas. When we eat together at the Shakhas we don’t know
which caste the person sitting next to us is from. Similarly, when we ‘fall-in-
line’ we stand in ascending order of our heights not our castes.
Swayamsewaks are taught not to believe in untouchability or in caste
hierarchies.

This is why Mohan Bhagwatji has called for ‘One temple, One well, One
crematorium’ in every village. Sangh has, in fact, been calling for this since
1940.

I was once in conversation with Jayprakash Narayan and our subject turned
towards the topic of communal politics. He accused everyone in the Sangh,
including me, of being communal. When I asked him the reason, he said none
of the 1200 pracharaks in the Sangh were Muslims.

When I asked him in return how many Muslims he had in his organisation —
Sarvodaya — he was baffled to find out the number. Only 2!

“Sure we may be communal, but the “secular” principles of two people in

this country — Gandhiji and you — cannot be questioned I think. So tell me
why do you have so few Muslims in your political organisation?” I asked
him.

When he couldn’t answer, I told him that to understand our intentions,

objectives and achievements, we needed to look beyond statistics and
numbers.

At many places Dalits have risen through the ranks in Sangh. At some places
they are also serving as Prant Prachaaraks. But we don’t go out of our way to
find out their numbers. We don’t promote an organisation like this. Social
reform is a silent, time taking exercise that requires lots of patience.

This is why in 1940s Ambedkarji was also associated with the Sangh. He
used to meet and be in touch with several members of the Sangh. Among
others, he was especially close to Dattopant Thengadiji.
He had told Dattopantji, “I know about the work and discipline of the Sangh.
I am also pleased with your work. But the number of Shakhas you are
running and the manner in which you are expanding the Shakhas is not
suitable for me.”

He had told Dattopantji that Sangh’s work will put his social movement back
by several years and this was unacceptable to him.

“I want to give this community some direction within my own lifetime. I

want to fight not just the system of varna, through which we are abused
regularly. I also don’t want us to fall prey to religions born outside the
country.” This is a conversation that Ambedkarji had with Dattopantji that he
has mentioned in his book titled ‘Babasaheb Ambedkar’.

The agony of Ambedkarji, who came from an oppressed caste, was

understandable. It is important to understand it and not to denigrate it.

In 1980s Balasaheb Deoras was presiding over a meeting in which a proposal

of reservation was forwarded. Many in the senior ranks were confused about
this topic. To be able to think beyond one’s caste and class is not easy after
all.

Balasaheb told all the people there, “Forget your castes for a moment and
then think of this issue. Try to imagine yourselves living in the environment,
the surroundings in which the people whose lives will be affected through
this change, live. First live that experience and then decide whether
reservation is or isn’t a useful tool to get out of those surroundings.”

The president’s resolution was passed without a comment.

Balasaheb had once made another interesting remark which has been my
guiding principles on this topic.

When the movement for reservation was going strong in Bihar in '78,
Balasaheb made two remarks — “Those who demand reservation only on
basis of caste are suffering from casteism, and those who demand reservation
only on the basis of financial condition are ignoring the unfortunate, thousand
year old history of our country.”

An ideal balance needs to be struck between social justice and social

harmony. The Shanti Bhushan formula, which was implemented in Bihar
with cooperation from Karpori Thakur and Chandra Shekhar, is a suitable
model for this.

Golwalkarji had said that the misfortune of our times is that political parties
for their benefit have kept on boil the issue of casteism constantly. When the
flames begins to flutter, more timber is brought and the fire burns bright
again.

The unfortunate manner in which some political parties have, in the name of
benefitting the oppressed classes, kept burning the fires of casteism has been
a big impediment in social reform.
It is true that our efforts haven’t touched all sections of the society in a way
we would like. I have to admit that we have lacked here. A lot of poison is
also being given by casteist parties.

But as my mentor used to tell me, “Dheere dheere jaldi chalo.” We have to
walk fast in order to catch up with the times, but not pace ourselves beyond
control.

(K N Govindacharya is a former RSS idealogue. Views are personal)

— As told to Suhas Munshi