A week after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat expressed concerns over the situation in Manipur, the central government has taken decisive action by holding crucial meetings to address the on-ground issues.
Calling it “commitment to governance” by Narendra Modi-led government, senior RSS functionaries said that the organisation is actively working to strengthen its connection with BJP leadership to tackle these challenges collaboratively.
A senior RSS functionary told News18 that governance initiatives, including those addressing the situation in Manipur, have gained momentum.
“Manipur has been yearning for peace for a long time. The state is still burning. Who will take care of that?” Bhagwat has asked in his speech.
According to RSS functionaries, the volunteers or swayamsevaks have been working on ground in Manipur with both Meitei and Kuki communities.
Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023 after a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts of the state to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Since then, over 220 people belonging to both Kuki and Meitei communities and security personnel have been killed in the continuing violence.
“Bhagwat ji earlier too mentioned about foreign hands in such an ethnic conflict. We are working with both the communities. As Sarasanghachalak Ji (Bhagwat) said, we should build bridges and get closer to those who have been upset with us for some reasons. This needs an administrative-social-political approach. We have to work in a collaborative manner,” said the functionary.
He also spoke about the need to end caste discrimination. “Caste (discrimination) should go away lock, stock and barrel.”
While elaborating on the issue, the senior RSS functionary emphasised that the RSS is committed to a “collaborative and inclusive” approach to addressing caste discrimination.
Despite this unified front organisationally, a nuanced divergence exists within the BJP’s alliance. The JD(U), a BJP ally, conducted a caste survey in Bihar and released the data — an initiative that the RSS does not endorse wholeheartedly.
RSS functionaries say that the caste data is available with the governments for making policies. However, releasing data in public domain may lead to divisions in society. This difference underscores the complexity of navigating caste-related policies within the broader political coalition, he added.
“We have been calling out caste discrimination for a long time. Bhagwat ji speaks about the caste-related issues in every speech. We have to do away with discriminatory attitudes socially and politically. It divides the nation,” he further said.
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