Bhagwat’s quota remarks over the years: From suggesting review to pitching for continuance

Maintaining that the RSS gives “all support to the reservation provided in the Constitution”, the RSS chief said it is about giving respect and not just about ensuring financial or political equality.

Seizing on Bhagwat’s remarks, the Opposition called it his “clarification” since, it charged, a “conspiracy” against quota is “very much alive” in the RSS’ mind.

Here is a look at the various statements of the RSS chief on the caste and reservation issues over the past several years.

In February this year, the Opposition had latched on to Bhagwat’s statement in Mumbai that the caste system was not ordained by God but created by “Pandits”, following which the Sangh clarified that by “Pandit” Bhagwat meant “intellectuals” and not Brahmins.

Talking about Sant Ravidas at an event in Mumbai then, Bhagwat had said that the great saint had found that truth alone is God. “I (God) am in all beings. Whatever be the name or colour, all have the same ability and respect. All are my own. No one is superior or inferior. Based on scriptures, what the Pandits say is a lie. By getting entangled in this imagination of superior and inferior castes, we have lost our way. This delusion has to be done away with.”

Bhagwat’s remarks, and the RSS’s quick clarification showed the tricky ground the Sangh navigates on the issue. Seen as a largely Brahminical organisation, it has repeatedly spoken up against untouchability and caste divisions – also in context of its efforts to forge one, united Hindu identity.

Speaking at a book launch in Nagpur on October 7, 2022, Bhagwat had said “varna” and “jaati” (caste) should be completely discarded, adding that “the caste system has no relevance now. Everything that causes discrimination should go out lock, stock and barrel”.

A month before that, the RSS-linked Samvada website had quoted him as having said in Karnataka: “The main problems of Hindu society, such as untouchability, differences and inequality, exist mainly in the mind. These problems do not exist in the scriptures… These problems have existed in our minds for many generations, and their solutions will also take time. We have to slowly work to remove them from our minds.”

In July the same year, while addressing a gathering of religious leaders from Dalit and backward class communities in Karnataka, Bhagwat had said that “efforts must be made to prevent religious conversions since they take people away from their roots”.

In August 2019, Bhagwat called for a “conversation in harmonious atmosphere between those in favour of reservation and those against it”. He also addressed his previous statements and said that his stance on reservation had “created a lot of noise and the whole discussion diverted from the actual issue”.

He added: “Those who favour reservation should speak keeping in mind the interests of those who are against it, and similarly those who oppose it should do the vice-versa… Discussion on reservation results in sharp actions and reactions every time whereas there is a need for harmony in the different sections of the society on this approach”.

In January 2018, speaking at a conference on “Nationalism and Ethical Practices in Business” at the Bombay Stock Exchange, Bhagwat had said that “the ethical practices of society are reflected in the politics of the country. For example, I don’t want to use ‘caste politics’, but I am compelled to use it, because the society votes based on caste. If I stay in power, only then can I change the system. So if the society changes, the politics of the country will also change, not vice-versa”.

Back in September 2015, during the Patel quota stir in Gujarat, Bhagwat’s suggestion for a review of the reservation policy had sparked a backlash. In an interview to the RSS-affiliated magazines, Organiser and Panchajanya, Bhagwat had said, “We should have an integral approach of welfare for all. It is sensible to realise that my interest lies in a larger interest. The government also has to be sensitive to these issues, so that there should not be any agitation for them.”

He went on to propose “a committee of people genuinely concerned for the interest of the whole nation and committed for social equality, including some representatives from the society, [who] should decide which categories require reservation and for how long”.

He had then also argued that the policy of reservations based on social backwardness is not in line with what the makers of the Constitution had in mind.

As his remarks set off a storm, drawing criticism from the Opposition and leaving the BJP red-faced, the RSS issued a statement that “it firmly supports the existing reservation policy enshrined in the Constitution” and that the remarks were “distorted by critics to create confusion about the organisation’s view over the issue”.

The BJP also clarified that it “respected 100% the reservation rights of SCs, STs and other backward castes”.

However, coming just ahead of the then Bihar Assembly elections, Bhagwat’s statement was believed to have cost the BJP dear as the JD(U)-RJD together accused the saffron party of planning to remove reservation.