The RSS 'Dalit Connect' in Punjab: A 4-year strategy to co-opt Dalit identity for electoral power.
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TL;DR: The RSS is executing a long-term 'Punjab Vijay Mission' to integrate the state's 38% Dalit population into the Hindutva fold. By using symbolic gestures like shared burial grounds and co-opting icons like Valmiki, they aim to create a reliable vote bank for the BJP while keeping the oppressive caste hierarchy intact under the guise of 'Samrasta' (harmony).
# The Strategic Objective
The **Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)** is fundamentally a political machine. While they project their work as cultural revivalism, their presence in Punjab, a state where they have historically struggled to gain electoral traction reveals a precise, four-year plan to flip political dynamics. The goal is to break into the **Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)** dominance by targeting the state's massive **Scheduled Caste** population.
# The 'Samrasta' Fallacy
Central to this operation is the concept of **'Samrasta.'** To the unsuspecting, this sounds like 'social harmony.' In practice, it is the antithesis of **Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s** call for the **Annihilation of Caste**.
* **Ambedkar’s vision** required the dismantling of the caste system entirely.
* **The RSS version** demands that castes continue to exist, perform their 'traditional roles,' and coexist 'harmoniously' within a hierarchical structure. It is not about equality; it is about management.
# The Five-Point Blueprint
According to reports—specifically those from **Dainik Bhaskar,** t[he RSS is deploying volunteers from the 'Dharmik Jagran Manch'](https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/originals/news/rss-punjab-victory-plan-dalit-ram-connection-aap-seats-137609378.html) to execute a strategy that includes:
* **Unifying Cemeteries:** Converting separate Dalit and upper-caste burial grounds into a single site to create a superficial perception of equality without challenging structural exclusion.
* **The 'Ram Connection':** Pushing a 'homecoming' narrative for Dalits who have converted to Sikhism or Christianity.
* **Icon Co-optation:** Rebranding sites like Ram Tirth in Amritsar to **'Valmiki Tirth'** and placing idols of **Sant Ravidas** and **Valmiki** in temples to convince Dalits that their heritage is 'naturally' Hindu.
# Why This Distorts the Reality
This campaign relies on a selective reading of history. By promoting figures like Ravidas or Valmiki as 'Hindu saints,' the RSS carefully strips away their anti-caste, anti-Brahmanical critiques. They present these figures as icons of inclusion while simultaneously ensuring that the Brahmanical hierarchy that originally marginalized these communities remains untouched and unchallenged.
# The Path Forward
The obsession with religious symbolism and historical grievances often distracts the **Bahujan community** from these cold, calculated political maneuvers. The focus on religious indoctrination serves to keep the community within the confines of a system that thrives on their status as second-class citizens. True empowerment, as consistently argued by historical anti-caste thinkers, lies in modern, scientific education and the active rejection of religious structures that enforce caste boundaries, not in seeking validation from the very power structures that demand our subjugation.
[Read the full article here.](https://castefreeindia.com/rss-dalit-connect-punjab-exposing-the-trap/)