Social service and reform The RSS has advocated the training of Dalits and other backward classes as temple high priests (a position traditionally reserved for Caste Brahminsand denied to lower castes). They argue that the social divisiveness of the Caste system is responsible for the lack of adherence to Hindu valuesand traditions and reaching out to the lower castes in this manner will be a remedy to the problem. [ 83 ]The RSS has also condemned upper caste Hindus for preventing Dalits from worshipping at temples, saying that even God will desert the temple in which Dalits cannot enter [ 84 ] Christophe Jaffrelot finds that there is insufficient data available to carry out a statistical analysis of social origins of the early RSS leaders but goes on to conclude, based on some known profiles that most of the RSS founders and its leading organisers, with exceptions were Maharashtrian Brahmins from middle or lower class [ 85 ]and argues that the pervasiveness of the Brahminical ethic in the organisation was probably the main reason why it failed to attract support from the low castes. He argues that the RSS resorted to instrumentalist techniques of ethno-religious mobilisation – in which its Brahminism was diluted – to overcome this handicap. [ 86 ]However Anderson and Damle 1987, find that members of all castes have been welcomed into the organisation and are treated as equals. [ 1 ]
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 16:20:50 +0000
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