RSS cautions against using caste census as political tool
New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has expressed caution over the caste census survey, urging that it should not be used as a political tool. While the organisation has not issued an official response to the Union government’s recent decision to conduct caste-based enumeration alongside the upcoming decadal census, sources indicate that the Sangh remains watchful of its implications.
The RSS, which has historically opposed caste-based segregation, supports the idea of sub-categorisation within Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and the introduction of a creamy layer—but insists this must be done through consultation and consensus with stakeholders.
This development comes shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat at the Prime Minister’s official residence, a meeting that has drawn attention amid the government’s announcement.
The Sangh has long championed the cause of Samajik Samarasta (social harmony), a campaign aimed at unifying Hindu society across caste lines. It has maintained that caste enumeration should not become a vehicle for political gain. In September last year, RSS chief spokesperson Sunil Ambekar, speaking in Palakkad, Kerala, emphasised that caste-related issues must be approached with sensitivity due to their impact on national unity and integrity.
“Such issues should not be handled based on elections or electoral politics,” Ambekar had said. He added that while collecting caste data for welfare purposes is an accepted practice, it must strictly serve the interests of underprivileged communities, and not be exploited for political advantage.
According to the RSS, it has no objection to caste data collection if it is used for public welfare rather than for fostering political divisions. Observers suggest that this nuanced endorsement has provided the Modi government the ideological clearance to proceed without alienating its traditional support base.
With ground-level implementation already visible in states like Bihar and ideological alignment at the national level, the caste census is poised to significantly influence India’s social policy and electoral strategies. For a nation still striving for equitable representation and social justice, the exercise could supply much-needed empirical data to guide policy decisions.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
