Caste bias a 'blot' on Hindu society, laws alone cannot end it: RSS leader Hosabale
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary, Dattatreya Hosabale, has described caste-based discrimination as a “blot” on Hindu society and said casteism and untouchability cannot be ended by laws or sermons alone, but require a change in individual behaviour.
He was speaking at a gathering of RSS volunteers at the Lal Parade Ground on Sunday.
“There should be no discrimination of any kind among human beings. Birth-based discrimination is not part of Hindu culture,” Mr. Hosabale said, calling for an end to untouchability and caste prejudice.
Referring to the Ramayana, he cited the episode in which Lord Ram accepts berries offered by Shabari, and asked how people could practise discrimination in the name of caste when such examples form part of the tradition. “Any kind of mistreatment in the name of caste weakens society,” he said, urging people to begin the change with their own conduct and within their own homes.
The remarks touch on a long-debated subject in Indian public life. Untouchability was abolished by Article 17 of the Constitution in 1950, and caste-based discrimination is also addressed under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Successive official reports and studies have nevertheless recorded continuing discrimination in access to housing, education, employment and public services, which is why the RSS leader's emphasis on social rather than legal change has drawn attention. The RSS has said it opposes untouchability and works for social harmony; Dalit organisations and political opponents have in the past argued that the organisation needs to demonstrate that commitment more visibly.
Speaking on India's place in the world, Mr. Hosabale said the country's rise should bring benefits to humanity rather than be aimed at dominating others, and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had enhanced India's global standing.
“India is progressing rapidly, but this means that India is rising, and it should rise. India's rise should bring many kinds of benefits to humanity,” he said, adding that the country's progress should not be measured only in economic or material terms.
He said India should rise not to dominate or exploit anyone, nor to suppress others through arrogance, but to serve humanity. Its 5,000-year civilisational journey, he added, showed that the country had repeatedly recovered from crises and conflicts, and that its people and scientists had earned recognition in various fields internationally.
On the role of society during emergencies, Mr. Hosabale noted that RSS volunteers had taken part in relief work during the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters, but stressed that such efforts should involve society as a whole rather than one organisation alone. Referring to the recent floods in Assam, he said volunteers of the RSS-affiliated Seva Bharati who went to assist affected people found that young people, college students and members of different sections of society had also come forward. “This is how it should be. Working for the country should happen in every settlement and every village,” he said.
On environmental protection, he said passing resolutions at public forums would not be enough, and called for conservation to become part of daily conduct at home, in schools, workplaces, markets and neighbourhoods. He urged RSS volunteers to work towards keeping rivers clean.
Mr. Hosabale also said India's progress should show the world how material well-being and spiritual happiness could be achieved together in a balanced manner.
Three days earlier, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed a gathering in Ujjain, telling around 1,700 Gen Z participants at a ‘Yuva Dharma Sansad’ that a person's ego can create the misconception that everything operates according to his authority. “Take the Sun, for example; you cannot do anything about it. If you don't believe in it, that's fine, but it will still rise and set,” he had said.
