Ram will be the only topic of discussion after January 22, 2024, and the Sangh Parivar will make sure that the political and electoral narrative revolves only around the Ram Mandir ahead of Lok Sabha elections next year, said a senior RSS functionary, who is also a member of the central committee of the Sangh.
Citing veteran poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar‘s remark on ‘Siya Ram’ last week, the RSS functionary told News18 that the social changes were the result of the outreach programme the Sangh had embarked on.
Akhtar, in a Diwali programme called ‘Deepotsav’ organised by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, said some elements had always been “intolerant”. Calling Hindus “generous and large-hearted”, he said the Hindu culture has taught people “democratic attitudes”.
Reacting to the continuous mention of a ‘caste census’ by the Congress and an election promise to implement caste surveys in the states if voted to power, the functionary said: “Caste census has been a ploy to break the Hindu unity. However, this plan of the Congress to satisfy political-electoral interest will not succeed.”
“If they are so keen to know the caste data, why did they not carry out a caste survey in the states where they have been in power for the past five years or more? Bringing caste is nothing but a way to break Hindu consolidation that we have achieved now. People will not fall prey to this,” he added.
Re-Shaping the Political Narrative
The Sangh Parivar, which includes the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and other Sangh affiliates, is planning to celebrate the Ram Temple inauguration across cities. Big screens are being planned across social centres, villages and shakhas. There will be week-long programmes to commemorate the Ram Temple opening ceremony, said a source in the organisation.
“We always aimed to reshape the political and social narrative of Bharat. This is the most important part of Bharatiyata and decolonisation of India. Our culture and our tradition have always revolved around Ram. There were certain aberrations, but everything will fall in place now once the Ram Temple is inaugurated. This is going to be a dream-come-true moment for crores of Indians,” said another senior Sangh functionary.
“Cutting across party lines, including Congress, every politician, and every social activist has now acknowledged the existence of Ram in our culture. They are now speaking openly about the innate connection every Indian has with Ram and Sita. That is what we have always wanted and worked for,” he added.
The RSS functionary highlighted the political shift. “Rahul Gandhi ji talks about Hindu Dharma. Bhupesh Baghel, the Congress Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, has built Ram Vangaman circuit and Ram statues across districts in his state, while Kamal Nath, former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, calls himself a Hanuman bhakt (devotee). This is how the narrative changed. Post January 22, every senior politician and every political party will talk about Lord Ram only. That will be the political narrative,” he added.
Caste Census ‘Conspiracy to Divide the Nation’
The senior RSS functionaries said that the idea of a caste census is being brought forth to “divide the Hindus” and “break the Hindu unity”.
“Ram Lalla will prevail. We will be starting a door-to-door campaign two weeks before Ram Lalla’s Pran Pratishtha. Our volunteers will travel across villages and narrate Ram katha. They will explain to the people why and how the life of Ram is connected with our national identity and culture. And culture goes beyond castes and religion,” said the senior member of the RSS.
“At a time when Opposition parties like the Congress are trying to build their poll plank around caste divisions, caste data and a promise of implementing caste census, we have to make the nation talk about Ram. And we will take every effort to make that happen,” he added, calling the caste census a “political conspiracy”.
“There will be serious consequences of caste surveys. We have always maintained that casteism, caste politics are bad. It was there in our system earlier, but that was something that broke Hindus. Cast identities, the social behaviours, and the caste issues gave birth to the idea of conversion in India. Our people started converting to other religions to get rid of the caste structure,” he said.
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