RSS to chronicle heroic struggles of deprived Indians
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, May 17
In a first, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, ruling BJP’s ideological mentor, has embarked on a mission to document lives of citizens who hail from deprived sections but overcame adversity to transform their lives and also help others from their communities progress.
“Hamaare jeevan hamaari yaadein” -1, the first in a series of such books, documents the trials and triumphs of four heroes from the ST and SC communities of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra and was launched on Tuesday by union environment minister Bhupender Yadav and RSS’ national publicity chief Sunil Ambekar.
The RSS project is aligned with the larger BJP goal of “priority to the deprived (vanchiton ko vareeyata)”.
The ruling BJP has been actively wooing the marginalised (SCs, STs, OBCs) through a range of government benefits. Equal distribution of government benefits is real secularism, PM Narendra Modi has been stating.
Commenting on the book, edited by Ramanand, Director of the Centre of Policy Research and Governance, Ambekar said it celebrates the struggles of people who, with hand held by Sangh and its affiliates, found meaning in their lives and also contributed to transforming the lives of others.
“There are some organizations which instill animosity in people. But the RSS and its affiliates imbine in people a spirit of nationalism, an approach that a problem is to be viewed not as mine or yours, but as a collective challenge,” said Ambekar, adding that the RSS “works to end imbalances in the society by inspiring people towards collective efforts for larger national good.”
“The RSS is the reality of social awakening and transformation. Sangh prepares people to struggle in adversity and inspires them to work for others to end discrimination in society,” the RSS official said, with Yadav rejecting the charge that BJP-Sangh ideology is “majoritarian.”
“Far from being majoritarian, our ideological thought is about taking everyone along. This ideology shows that social harmony does not flow from slogans. It comes from being there for each other,” the minister said, referring to the book which documents the life of two extremely backward tribals from Madhya Pradesh — Kaliram and Dhanraj from Gond tribes who rose to become the first persons from their communities to attain PhDs and later guide others from their communities to do the same.
Another hero of the book is two time former Ranchi Mayor Asha Lakra, a tribal from Jharkhand, whose husband was killed by Maoists but whose zeal for life only got stronger.
The fourth story is of Aniket, an SC, born and raised in Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum. Aniket rose to prominence for going all out to help his slum dwellers during Covid 19.
“Aniket died in an accident recently, but leaves behind a legacy that inspires us all. It was because of Aniket that another Dharavi native Raj Kamle, who now resides in London, reconnected with his roots and is now working to help others in the slum,” says Ambekar, ahead of Madhya Pradesh elections later this year.
