In a major outreach, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Banvasi Kalyan Samiti is set to host a three-day programme, bringing together 80 tribal groups at Samalkha in Haryana on September 21. At the event, the groups will perform their traditional puja rituals, meet the senior functionaries and also work on projects.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will inaugurate the programme, marking a renewed effort of the organisation strengthen its narrative of tribals being an integral part of the Hindu fold. The organisation has long been fighting against the narrative of a section of tribal communities announcing them as ‘non-Hindu’ and the alleged conversion to Christianity.
The event underscores the RSS’s mission to unify tribals under the broader Hindu identity and solidify its influence among indigenous communities. The Sangh has expressed its concern over the alleged ‘illegal’ religious conversion of the tribal communities in several states including Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Tamilnadu. During the Samanvya Baithak early this month in Kerala, the senior functionaries of the RSS voiced their apprehension about the increasing instances of alleged conversion of the tribal communities.
“The Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram is set to hold its national-level –Karyakarta Sammelan — at Samalkha, Haryana, an event organized every three years. This year’s gathering, starting on September 21, will feature several special rituals performed by 80 different tribal communities, each in their own pandal. We are organising this gathering or the sammelan to raise national awareness about the rich traditions of these tribal groups. A similar ritual was performed when the sammelan was previously held in Shirdi,” said Pramod Pethkar, national spokesperson of Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram.
He further added that Bhagwat will attend the programme on the first day.
The event is expected to draw over 2,000 attendees from across the country. The event will witness participation of tribal communities from all the states and UTs including from Andaman islands. Apart from the community members, volunteers and senior functionaries of 400 Mahanagar (city) committees of the Kalyan Ashram will also participate in the programme.
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