Beginning March 4, RSS is organising a conference in collaboration with Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida. They invited 150 research papers from all over India and chose 70 of them for the conference. 32 speakers will speak on 14 subtopics. The umbrella theme of the conference is quotas for Dalit Muslims and Christians.
Background of demand
For the last two decades or so, it has been the most controversial subtopic related to reservations. Quotas for Dalit Muslims and Christians are nothing but an extension of the birth-based caste privilege (reservation) accorded to Dalits while they were Hindus. What happens is that the poor and downtrodden, who are eligible for reservation under the Schedule Caste category, are often lured into these religions by conversion mafias.
They are often told that by converting, their lifestyle and social status will improve. Lifestyle because of the financial heft conversion mafias claim to possess; social status because Christianity and Islam are portrayed as casteless. Poor Dalits get beaten on both fronts. They lose their job reservation granted under Article 341 of the Constitution and later find out that they are still treated differently from others by their co-religionists. The Sachar Committee has documented this grim reality.
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Technicality
That presents the threat of his returning to the Sanatan fold. Conversion mafias don’t want it. This is the main reason why a specific lobby is active to grant these people reservations. The problem is that under the Constitutional Order of 1950 and further refinements, only Dalits converting to Sikhism and Buddhism can avail themselves of this benefit. Sikhs and Buddhists were included after respective committees advocated for their inclusion.
The Ranganath Misra Commission had made similar recommendations for Dalit Muslims and Christians. The BJP had castigated the report in unequivocal terms. But, last year, the Modi government decided to form a panel to have another look at the issue. And now this RSS conference. It is as if both the BJP and RSS are setting the national dialogue for it.
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What is RSS doing?
Any such reservation belies common sense and is tantamount to cheating the majority religion. In one way, reservation is a way to correct the historic inequity caused by the introduction of a hierarchy-based caste system by the Abrahamics.
It is available for those who did not lose faith in their culture. It is available for those whose ancestors showcased perseverance. It is a method for the Sanatan community as a whole to pay it back. It is not a freebie available to those who showed opportunism. Reservations are a tribute and should be seen as such.
Of all the organisations, it is the RSS that should be mindful of that. But, no, they are going in different directions altogether. The organisation has now started to harm the very people for whom it claims to stand.
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