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Annual RSS meeting to be held in Ooty
Contemporary political, social and economic issues are expected to come up for discussion at the meeting being held from July 13-15
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) brass led by chief Mohan Bhagwat will meet in Ooty in Tamil Nadu this week as part of the annual Prant Pracharak meet to take stock of the work undertaken by its various offshoots and to review expansion plans ahead of its centenary celebrations in 2025.
Contemporary political, social and economic issues are expected to come up for discussion at the meeting being held from July 13-15, which functionaries of the Sangh maintain will focus on organisational issues such as activities that were undertaken by the offshoots, the efforts made to expand its footprint, and breach territories where its work has been minimal or limited.
“The meeting will discuss and review the Sangh Shiksha Vargs (RSS training camps) held this year, and the progress made so far in the Sangh centenary action plan for expanding the organisation. The meeting also aims to deliberate upon, among others, shakha-level activities related to social transformation and discuss organisational programmes and activities for the next 4-5 months as well as the contemporary issues,” said Sunil Ambekar, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh, or chief spokesperson of the Sangh.
The annual meeting comes at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party government has shown its intent to roll out a uniform civil code (UCC), a demand that has been on the Sangh’s wish list for decades. The BJP is the political arm of the RSS, which has also been pushing the government to bring in a national population policy.
In several of his speeches, including the annual Vijaydashami speech, Bhagwat has flagged concerns about India’s growing population, the “strain it puts on the natural resources” and “population imbalance and demographic changes in the country.”
In his last annual speech in Nagpur, Bhagwat said, “Population imbalances lead to changes in geographical boundaries. Alongside the differences in birth rate, conversions by force, lure or greed and infiltration are also big reasons. All these factors have to be mulled over. Population control and religion-based population balance is an important subject that can no longer be ignored.”
While the law commission is in the process of seeking feedback and suggestions on the contours of the code that proposes uniformity on a broad set of issues such as gender parity, marriage registration, adoption and division of assets; Prime Minister Narendra Modi also flagged the issue of different sets of laws in the country.
Addressing party workers in Madhya Pradesh last month, Modi said Muslims were being misled in the name of UCC. “These days, people are being provoked by the UCC. You tell me, if there is one law for one person in a home, and another law for another person, can that house function?” he asked rhetorically.
Implementation of the UCC, removal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir that gave it special status, construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya and a nationwide ban on cow slaughter have been high on the BJP and RSS’s agenda for years.
Another issue that is expected to come up for discussion is the unrest in Manipur over the issue of including the Meities in the list of scheduled tribes. The Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA), the Sangh’s offshoot that works with tribal communities, is expected to hold forth on the issue that has left the state simmering, with hundreds dead and injured.
In its annual meeting in January, the VKA had suggested adherence to the laid down procedures for grant of ST status to communities instead of political compulsions. “The process for inclusion in the ST list has been defined, and state governments should stick to it instead of making decisions based on electoral considerations or political gains,” a VKA functionary said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The meeting, which comes ahead of assembly elections in five states and general election in 2024, is also expected to take stock of the Sangh’s outreach towards the minorities, which was led by Bhagwat. In a bid to alter the impression about the Sangh being perceived as anti-minorities, the RSS chief visited a madrassa in the national capital and also met representatives of the Muslim community.
Among those who will be present for the meeting are general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, joint general secretaries Krishna Gopal, Manmohan Vaidya, CR Mukunda, Arun Kumar and Ramdutt. Prant pracharaks, their deputies and the organisational secretaries of various RSS offshoots will also be present.
