Arvind Netam, a former Union minister under late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and a veteran Vanvasi leader from Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, has been invited as the chief guest at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) prestigious Karyakarta Vikas Varg Dwitiya Samapan Samaroh — the closing ceremony of the final phase of Sangh’s volunteer training camp in Nagpur on June 5. The development marks a tectonic shift in ideological alignments and opens a new chapter in the Sangh Parivar’s sustained outreach to Vanvasi Bharat.
The event, to be held at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, will see Netam sharing the dais with RSS Sarsanghachalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat. The convocation is one of the two most significant annual events hosted by the Sangh — the other being the Dussehra address. Notably, former President Pranab Mukherjee was invited in 2018 for a similar event, drawing nationwide attention.
Arvind Netam’s political credentials make his presence particularly noteworthy. A former Congress Member of Parliament who was first elected in 1971, he served as Minister of Education from 1973 to 1977 during the controversial Emergency period. He was later part of Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s cabinet, marking decades of allegiance to the Congress party.
However, Netam distanced himself from the Congress in 2023, citing ideological and leadership disagreements. He went on to float the Hamar Raj Party, the political wing of Sarva Adivasi Samaj — a coalition of various Vanvasi groups. His party contested the 2023 Chhattisgarh Assembly elections, significantly denting the Congress’ electoral performance, especially in Bastar and Surguja.
The BJP on the other hand swept through the Vanvasi belts, winning 9 out of 12 seats in Bastar and all 14 seats in Surguja, virtually erasing Congress’ influence in regions where the Congress performed better in the last state assembly elections held in 2018.
Speaking to media, Netam openly acknowledged a transformation in his political and ideological stance. “Recently, I also came close to the RSS. I have accepted that some of my earlier viewpoints were not right,” he said.
He admitted to meeting Mohan Bhagwat in Chhattisgarh and discussing pressing Vanvasi issues such as religious conversion, cultural alienation, and lack of meaningful political representation. “There has been a gradual decline in focus on Vanvasi concerns. I believe the Sangh can take up the concerns to the right forum,” Netam said.
He raised a pivotal question that has long haunted civilisational discourse: “Nowadays, it is often said that a section of Vanvasis don’t identify themselves as Hindu. Whether this trend existed prior to 1947 is among the issues that need to be addressed.”
His statements signal not just a rapprochement with the Sangh, but also a call for introspection within India’s broader political spectrum on how Vanvasi identity and dharmic civilisation can be harmonised.
Netam also criticised the Congress decision to censor newspapers during emergency, stating “Censorship of newspapers was a wrong decision by the Congress. If it had not been so, perhaps the party’s future might have been different,” he said.
Sangh sources describe Netam’s invitation as more than symbolic, particularly in a region where Christian missionary activity and the associated religious conversions have created deep social fractures. significantly Bastar has become a flashpoint in the battle between conversion-driven forces and those who cherished the organic civilisational ethos of Bharat.
With President Droupadi Murmu, a Vanvasi from Odisha occupying the highest constitutional office in the country, and Vanvasi leaders like Vishnu Deo Sai and Mohan Majhi leading Chhattisgarh and Odisha respectively, Netam’s inclusion in the Sangh’s inner events marks another significant steps aligning with the Sangh’s longstanding campaign that Vanvasis are integral carriers of Bharat’s dharmic legacy.
The Vanvasi belts, particularly in Bastar, are presently roiled in tension over allegations of large-scale conversions by Christian missionaries. Hindu organisations have accused missionary groups of aggressively targeting vulnerable Vanvasi communities, often under the guise of social service. The resultant religious tension has led to clashes, community polarisation, and loss of socio-cultural cohesion.
While the Congress has maintained a studied silence on Netam’s recent engagements with the Sangh, party insiders admit off-record that his exit and political activity in 2023 proved electorally catastrophic. The weakening of Congress’ hold in Vanvasi constituencies is now being viewed as a direct consequence of its failure to engage with ground-level Vanvasi concerns, choosing instead to ride on legacy narratives that no longer resonate.
