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The UP governor speaks up for the dalits

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is very, very upset with Uttar Pradesh Governor Suraj Bhan.

Despite being a hardcore RSS activist, Bhan spoke up for the dalits and took a dig at the Sangh Parivar's basic bias towards the upper castes.

At a RSS-sponsored seminar on 'Humanism in Indian Philosophical Thought' , Bhan today asked participants "why modern thinkers didn't care to give some place to the ills in today's society, when scholars like Sant Kabirdas and Sant Ravidas could raise their voice against the social ills emerging out of caste discrimination in their time."

This isn't quite in line with the RSS line. But Bhan went further when he lashed out at Tulsidas's Ram Charit Manas, the epic that eulogises Ram. He did not even hesitate to question Ram's divine justice.

His speech concentrated on the contradictions between the original Ramayana written by Valmiki and the Ram Charit Manas, composed by Tulsidas, a member of the upper castes.

The speech caused a stir in the Parivar, particularly because RSS chief K C Sudershan was the key speaker at the seminar.

Since the RSS traditionally did not encourage viewpoints contrary to its doctrine, the governor's remarks could not be overlooked, said a senior BJP leader who was present at the function.

Bhan, known to be rather blunt, asked, "Doesn't it sound strange that on one hand Lord Ram ruthlessly beheaded Shambuk Muni because, despite being a dalit he dared to perform tapasya; while, on the other, he happily ate berries offered to him by another dalit, Shabori.

"Why was it that such a contradiction appeared only in the Ram Charit Manas and not in the original work of Valmiki," he asked. He cited a couple of other examples in support of his underlying argument that Tulsidas's version lacked authenticity and that it was influenced by the social structure of his times, when upper caste domination was at its peak.

"Perhaps he was trying to say that Valmiki's Ramayana, which was the true story of Lord Ram, had been overshadowed by Tulsidas's Ram Charit Manas simply because Valmiki happened to belong to an underprivileged caste", remarked one offended upper caste RSS leader.

Though New RSS chief K C Sudershan chose to ignore the governor's remarks, the organiser of the seminar, Prof Indu Bhushan Pandey, could not resist saying, "The questions raised by the governor would have to be replied separately, at another forum."

However, the chagrin caused to the RSS bigwigs was vividly apparent on their faces. Even UP's PWD Minister Kalraj Misra, a keen aspirant for the chief minister's office, who had been virtually trailing the RSS chief, expressed his displeasure through gestures.

Back in the upper caste dominated RSS and BJP, the governor's remarks were not to be taken lightly and this was likely to snowball into a major issue against Bhan, among the few vocal dalits in the saffron brigade.

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