In his Independence Day speech last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed several tribal heroes who played a crucial role in India’s freedom struggle. Two months ahead of the country’s 77th Independence day, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has started scripting and publishing the life stories of common tribal volunteers, who have made ‘exemplary contribution’ in uplifting the communities. They are being called as the common man’s ‘heroes’ by the organisation.
Their work include their “service during covid at Dharavi slum, their efforts to educate young men and women of Gond tribe in MP, and standing up to Naxalites” – said Sunil Ambekar, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of RSS while releasing the first book last week in Delhi.
The move came at a time when elections are due in states like Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, where tribal population is the deciding factor.
The outreach programme has been initiated to bring the tribal volunteers at the forefront, pitching them as heroes of their land and publishing their stories in the form of books. It is also an attempt to negate the general perception which accuses the RSS of Brahminical supremacy, a senior functionary of the RSS told News18.
The first book was launched last week with the life stories of four tribal Swayamsevaks (volunteers) from Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
The tribal heroes, whose life stories were published, include a woman from Jharkhand’s Oraon tribe, two from Madhya Pradesh’s Gond tribe and one from Maharashtra’s Dharavi area. The RSS now plans to publish life stories of 100 Swayamsevaks, who belong to the tribal communities, News 18 has learnt.
Harsh Chauhan, chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), told News18, “These are certain steps that we have taken to make our tribal outreach stronger than ever. This will make them feel included. These steps will inspire our Swayamsevaks, who come from the tribal community and remote rural areas of such states. We want to tell their stories of struggle and resilience.”
RSS Way of Tribal Outreach
For different states, the RSS has designed different programmes to make the outreach efficient. The RSS works among the tribals through various organisations, and the most prominent among them is Vanavasi Kalyan Samity.
“The approach is based on (solving) local issues. In Chhattisgarh, conversion of tribal population is a substantial crisis for us. We need to get them back to Sanatan (Hindu). We have a Dharma Jagaran Manch, which works among the tribal and gets them reconverted from Christianity,” said a senior RSS functionary.
While in Gujarat’s Dahod area, RSS dealt with conversion in a different way, said the functionary. “Ghar-wapsi did not work well there. Small savings schemes with 4% interest and low-interest loans by cooperative societies run by our affiliates worked for us. We also trained the farmers to conserve the farm land,” he added. However, the decision of publishing their struggle in the form of stories, will have a national impact, and this will encourage them to work in national interest, he further said.
The first book titled ‘Hamari Jivan Hamari Yaadein’ was released last week by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Sunil Ambekar, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh (national spokesperson) of RSS.
Ramanand Nand, director of Centre of Policy Research and Governance (CPRG), told News18, “We are aiming to publish at least 100 such inspiring stories of RSS volunteers who are tribals. Our work is on.”
CPRG is an independent think tank that works on social development.
“The idea of bringing tribal Swayamsevaks at the forefront first came from Sunil Ambekar ji and we are implementing his idea. He wants to encourage them to work at the forefront,” Nand added.
Ambekar once headed ABVP, the student wing of RSS.
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