5 days ago
RSS says working to restore peace in Manipur: ‘Things moving in positive direction … believe solution will be found'
As the Union government engages with Manipur's Meitei and Kuki groups in Delhi, the RSS on Monday said it was involved in bringing the two communities together and that a solution to the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state 'will be found'.
RSS publicity in-charge Sunil Ambekar said the Sangh had established communication with both Meiteis and Kukis.'When situations worsen in a region, they do not become alright in a day. But compared to last year, there is a modicum of peace (in Manipur). The kind of communication that is taking place on either side (of the divide), we believe a solution will be found,' he said at a press conference here following the conclusion of the Sangh's Prant Pracharak Baithak, which was held from Friday to Sunday.
Ambekar said Sangh representatives in Manipur discussed the issue during the national-level meeting of all of its regional representatives. All top RSS leaders, including its chief Mohan Bhagwat, attended the meeting.
'Representatives from various regions participated. They spoke about the Sangh's endeavours in Manipur in terms of efforts being made by workers to establish peace in the state … how they are establishing communication with both Meitei and Kuki communities to ensure that the environment improves … According to their experience, things are moving in a positive direction. It may take some time, but some positive news has been received from them,' Ambekar said.
The RSS statement comes at a time when New Delhi, through its Northeast advisor A K Mishra, has been holding weekly meetings with Meitei civil society groups as well as Kuki militant groups in a Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement with the Centre. '
The meeting with the SoO groups, which began almost two years after the conflict started in May 2023, has been touted to be a significant initiative by the Centre. The government hopes these meetings, in due course, will help achieve free movement in the state as a first step and also get SoO groups to agree to move their camps away from the fringes of the Imphal Valley. Sources said the imposition of President's Rule in the state had helped bring down violence, paving the way for fruitful talks.
According to Ambekar, various contemporary issues, including India's response to terrorism through Operation Sindoor, were discussed at the three-day meeting.
Maharashtra language row
The RSS leader also reacted to the language row in Maharashtra and appeared to underline the Sangh's stance. 'The Sangh has always maintained that all languages of India are national languages. In their respective regions, people talk in their language and it has always been everyone's appeal that primary education must be in the local language. This is an established fact now,' he said.
Two government orders on Hindi as the third language in primary schools in Maharashtra recently led to widespread protests by the Opposition. After the orders were revoked last week, estranged cousins Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Raj Thackeray of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena came together at a 'victory rally' in Mumbai last Saturday, giving rise to speculation around the shifting political equations in the state ahead of the Mumbai civic polls.
Kerala 'Bharat Mata' row
Reacting to the Bharat Mata row in Kerala, Ambekar said, 'People should read history. The imagination of Bharat Mata did not begin with the Sangh. It is a very old imagination. Traditionally, we view Bharat as our mother and in different points of history, this has been part of the (national) imagination. Even during the freedom struggle, this imagination was all-pervasive. Freedom fighters also have had this imagination. So, traditionally, we (the nation) have imagined our country as a mother. Its picturisation keeps happening in different ways. It should be viewed with the same respect.'
A row erupted in Kerala last month after Governor Rajendra Arlekar paid tribute to a portrait of Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag during Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan. Earlier, the Left Democratic Front government had relocated its World Environment Day celebrations from the Raj Bhavan, claiming that the photo of Bharat Mata on display at the event was 'one used by the RSS'.
On Monday, Ambekar once again reacted to Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge's remarks about banning the RSS. 'The Sangh has been banned in the past as well. They did not withdraw it (the ban), but were rather forced to. Sometimes because of the courts and sometimes because of agitations. They never did it on their own. They tried, but because it did not sit well with the law, they had to withdraw the ban,' he said.
Asked about events planned for the Sangh's centenary celebrations, Ambekar said the RSS was going to organise Hindu sammelans across the country at the mandal level in rural areas and the 'slum-level' in urban areas.
'There are 58,964 mandals and 44,055 bastis (slums). There will be 11,360 samajik sadbhav (societal harmony) meetings across 'khand (another type of administrative unit)' and 'nagar (urban area)' levels. These meetings, with the participation of the society, will focus on rejuvenating religious thought and removing social ills. Then there will be a 'Grih Sampark (household outreach)' campaign where workers will go house to house with Sangh literature. There will also be 924 district-level outreach events to eminent citizens over nationalistic and Hindutva thought.'
