Mohan Bhagwat: There is no caste superiority, illusion has to be set aside

“What some pandits say on the basis of shaastras is a lie. We are misled by caste superiority and this illusion has to be set aside,” Bhagwat said.

Bhagwat has been involved in the conversation around caste earlier too and has received backlash from the Opposition, which has repeatedly hit back by questioning the RSS’s stand on caste.

In October 2022, speaking at a book launch in Nagpur, Bhagwat 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,” the RSS chief said.

At the time, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar reacted “that those who were responsible for such discrimination are realising it must be done away with, is a good thing”.

In August the same year, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah said that he had been “opposing the RSS from the beginning as it is just an association of upper castes”.

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

According to the RSS-linked ‘Samvada’ website, which quoted from his speech, he went on to say: “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 mind.”

In January 2018, speaking at a conference on “Nationalism and Ethical Practices in Business” at the Bombay Stock Exchange in January 2018, Bhagwat said “the ethical practices of the society is 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, Bhagwat’s suggestion for a review of the reservation policy had received a lot of backlash. He had made the comments at the time of the Patel quota stir in Gujarat.

In an interview to RSS mouthpieces ‘Organiser’ and ‘Panchjanya’, 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. Government also has to be sensitive to these issues so that there should not be any agitation for them.” He went on 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 also then 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, inviting 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 per cent the reservation rights of the SCs, STs and other backward castes.”

Reacting to Bhagwat’s remarks, RJD president Lalu Prasad had, in an interview to PTI, said there was a “pattern” behind Bhagwat’s remarks, adding: “That is their (RSS) original thought process. Their psyche is against SC/ST and OBC. What was their inner core came out.”

Later, in August 2019, Bhagwat spoke of 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”.

This again prompted a lot of reaction, again from Bihar. Opposition leaders in the state – from RJD, Congress, HAM, RLSP and Left parties – hit out at the BJP and the RSS. Hitting out at Bhagwat’s statements, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav said that “debate and dialogue” should instead be held on “why 80 per cent central government jobs under the reservation quota are vacant and why there is not a single secretary-level officer from the OBC and EBC communities And why there is no vice-chancellor from Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe category?”

(With agency inputs)