RSS outfit Bharat Vikas Parishad (BVP) is walking extra mile in “incentivising” villages which have tuned into “inter-caste harmony” progammes and seeking an “integrated social and economic growth” by organising funding of projects in these rural areas.
RSS has been campaigning for encouraging participation of all communities in festivals “where caste does not become a barrier” and insisting that at least one festival be celebrated in villages by all together.
Pointing out the “connect of RSS in rural areas”, sources pointed out that the RSS published “Jagaran Patrikas” in local languages are going “directly” to over 2,30,000 villages in the country. This is besides the regular RSS-inspired publications. These “Jagaran Patrikas” are running into eight to 24 pages carrying dialogues, stories, and articles on rural issues those appeal to rural masses.
In Rajasthan villages, it goes by the name of Pather kan, in Marathi it is titled Sanskritic Varta Patra, Telugu Vijay Vani and Tamil Vijay Bharatas.
“These magazines are communicated by collective readings by prominent people of villages either at ‘chaupal’ or any other community centre where ideas on positive social changes are also exchanged,” they said.
According to sources, the RSS has analysed “prant-wise” scrutiny of caste discrimination against Dalits and other communities and sought to give a pro-active encouragement to ‘integrated villages’ which are adopting ‘ek mandir, ek talab, ek shamshan’ programme initiated by the Sangh.
In return, the BVP is “helping in promotion” of water management, agriculture and community development programme, they said. “The pre-condition is establishing harmony by way of implementing togetherness”, sources said.
By now the main work of the BVP was on the promotion of “the Jaipur foot” for the disabled. Under its fresh social harmony projects, leaders of all communities are called and ways are gradually worked out to establish caste harmony in villages. “Workers of BVP have stayed in the houses of dalit communities and attempted to bring about togetherness,” they said.
RSS reach in rural areas, particularly in the mandal levels, have increased with a manifold increase, during last one year, in the number of their ‘Vistaraks’ (working people spending 15 days outside their regions to initiate new Sakhas) who later assume the role of ‘Pracharaks’ in the Sangh Parivar.