HVK Archives: Rid Hinduism of manu's caste system
Rid Hinduism of manu's caste system - The Times of India News Service
Dilip Chaware
()
25 June 1996
Title : Rid Hinduism of manu's caste system, writes RSS
ideologue
Author : Dilip Chaware
Publication : The Times of India News Service
Date : June 25, 1996
An ideologue of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),
Mr Ramesh Patange, has decried the general Hindu
tendency
to accord topmost priority to the question of Muslims and
has advised the majority community to first attack its
own social evils like the caste system. =
His thoughts are contained in a book, Me, Manu Aani Sangh
(I, Manu and the RSS), which is to be published shortly.
Strongly denouncing the theory of social hierarchy
formulated by Manu, Mr Patange has claimed that the RSS
agreed with this denunciation, He has also regretted
that no comprehensive study of the concept of uniting
Hindus which was propagated by RSS founder Keshav
Baliram
Hedgewar has been carried out all these years.
Mr Patange has now made an effort to explain the RSS
theory of bringing all Hindus together on a social
platform rather than on a religious or political one. Mr
Patange, who edits the Marathi weekly Vivek, has stressed
the need to understand the thinking behind the existence
of the RSS and has squarely criticised the socialists and
the communists for denigrating the organisation.
The book offers rare insights into the working of the
RSS, which is considered to be operating secretly and in
which orders to the activists are said to be imposed from
its Nagpur headquarters. The author, who has been
associated with the RSS for over 42 years now, has
refuted this claim by describing certain events in great
details.
Mr Patange writes: "In all these years, not a single RSS
activist enquired about my caste. However, a large number
of socialists and Congress workers made it a point to ask
me about my caste."
Mr Patange has attacked those who criticise Hindutva but
unabashedly cash in on its caste system. He has said that
an ideological revolution is needed to this
disinformation campaign by vested interests.
Born in a backward-caste family, Mr Patange started
assiduously studying Maharashtra's social reform
movement in general and B. R. Ambedkar's writings in
particular. He supplemented this study by poring over
the speeches of the three successive RSS chiefs,
Hedgewar, M. S. Golwalkar and Balasaheb Deoras."There
was
consistency in their thinking and each of them insisted
that uniting Hindus without giving any consideration to
their caste should be the first priority," Mr Patange
has pointed out.
The RSS wholeheartedly supported the rechristening of
Marathwada University after Ambedkar in 1994 and the
issue did not trigger off violence like it did in 1978.
Mr. Patange has argued that it was because of the RSS
that the Shiv Sena did not oppose the move the way it
would have done otherwise. His analysis of the pre-
rechristening situation is incisive.
We writes, "The Congress was dithering and the socialists
were the only ones to oppose the rechristening; the
socialists more so by invoking the ethos of the
Marathwada region. In 1978 also, they opposed the
rechristening on the same ploy and were successful in
spreading the impression that proponents of Hindutva were
against it. Therefore, after prolonged deliberations in
1993, the RSS decided to support the rechristening
despite opposition from some of its leading lights and a
large number of its activists. Finally, every
swayamsevak of the RSS realised that accepting the
rechristening was in the interests of Hindutva and
wholeheartedly began working towards this goal. The
involvement of the RSS proved a wise decision since there
was no aftermath and the Congress and the socialists
were seen in their true colours."
Mr Patange has dwelt upon the setting up of various RSS
front organisations like the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (the
RSS insists upon using the term Vanvasi and abhors the
word Adivasi) and the Samarasata Manch, working for
removing caste discriminations from society, and has
described various difficulties encountered by the
founders of these bodies in the initial days.
The author has praised the contribution of Balasaheb
Deoras in attacking the social evils through the RSS and
broadbasing the organisation by attracting people from
various strata of society.
He has stoutly maintained that those proud of their own
caste and those supporting social discrimination will
never be able to unite Hindus. "It is sad that no
adequate research has been carried out on the
contribution of Hedgewar, who cemented a massive
organisation which never gave importance to the caste of
an individual. I regard the lack of such research as the
defeat of Maharashtra which prides itself as
intellectually superior (to other
states)," the author laments.
The book will be released by Maharashtra minister for
higher education Datta Rane at a function here on
Thursday.
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