e n

What it is like to be a Dalitbahujan in the RSS

Two accounts – one from the North, one from the deep South; one by a Dalit, the other by an OBC – chronicle their respective journeys from indoctrination in hatred of the ‘other’ to their eyes being opened to the truth, and their leaving the RSS and turning its fiercest critics

The 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid and 2002 massacre of Muslims in Gujarat, both by the Shudra and Atishudra foot soldiers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at the behest of the Sangh’s Dwij (upper-caste) ideologues; the recent lynching of Dalits (Atishudras or members of Scheduled Castes) and Muslims on the pretext of cow protection; the rumours of “love jihad” that never refuse to go away but still remain as unfounded as ever; and the continuing hate speech against Muslims, most recently over the massive opposition to the Citizens Amendment Act – these aren’t flash floods of hatred. They have been building up for years. They are the result of the rivulets of hate that have been trickling in from the seemingly harmless, peaceful gatherings called the shakhas. The rivulets have merged to form a river, often a swollen river overflowing its banks.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: What it is like to be a Dalitbahujan in the RSS

About The Author

Anil Varghese

Anil Varghese is Editor-in-Chief, Forward Press

Related Articles

The teacher who wrote the poem ‘Kanwar Lene Mat Jana’ speaks his mind
“Some good-for-nothing Savarna teachers only kill time in school. Who attends government schools these days? Only children from SC, ST and Muslim families. Teachers...
Obituary: Prof Nandu Ram – who introduced Ambedkarism to JNU
Only a scholar like Prof Nandu Ram could have written ‘Beyond Ambedkar: Essays on Dalits in India’ (1995) and the first encyclopaedia on Scheduled...
Special Intensive Revision (SIR): Conspiracy to disfranchise the Dalitbahujan
Santosh is incensed that the BLO is not visiting the homes of the poor. Instead, he is asking them to come to the local...
Jharkhand: Why insist on building RIMS-2 on Adivasi farmland?
Ample land belonging to the HEC is lying unused. There is no dearth of land outside the Fifth-Schedule areas either. Despite all this, why...
Slums (and their demolition) are a monument to the State’s casteist mindset
Without affordable housing, those who build and keep the cities running, most of them Dalit, OBC and Adivasi, are forced to build shacks for...