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?K.S. Sudarshan
Strongly objecting to the use of the word ?dalit?, the RSS Sarsanghchalak, K.S. Sudarshan has said that Hindu shastra do not allow untouchablity. ?A number of religious parliaments have confirmed that untouchability has no place in Hindu society. In fact, they are not dalit, rather we should call them Amritputra,? he said. Praising the efforts of Swami Vivekananda, Gurunanak, Narayanguru, Swami Sahajananda, etc. in this regard, the Sarsanghchalak emphasised that the Hindu religious leaders have never supported untouchability. He said harmony in the society can be developed only with the development of self-respect among the deprived sections. Shri Sudarshan was speaking at a function held in Ahmedabad recently.
Suggesting immediate ban on the system of carrying excreta on head, the Sarsanghchalak stressed the need to use machines for this work. ?The ruins of our ancient civilisations like Mohan-jodaro, Harrappa, Lothal, etc. do not give any evidence that this hatred system was ever supported. The fact is that those who refused to embarrass Islam during the Mughal period were forced to do this work. We have to rectify this mistake immediately,? Shri Sudarshan said.
Holding the politicians responsible for the growing division in the society, he said the political parties start acting on caste equations only during the elections. Politicians divide the society, the religious and social leaders join it, he said.
The Sarsanghchalak rejected the concept of minorityism. He said that the ancestors of 99.9 per cent Muslims and Christians were Hindu. If they originally belong to this soil how can they be termed minority? Nationality does not change with the change of one'sway of worship. Referring to the Marthoma and Malankara churches of Kerala, he supported the concept of Swadeshi church. He asked why Rome should have control over the property of Indian churches? He also stressed the need to introduce same laws for Churches as there are for Hindu and Muslim religious places. Commenting on the problem of conversions, the Sarsanghchalak said that the Christian missionaries succeeded owing to various weaknesses in our society. ?But now the situation has changed. The efforts of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and various Hindu organisations have been successful to put this tendency at rest and hence a large number of people are returning to their original roots,? he said. (VSK)
