RSS's Dalit outreach to witness community feast, 'pujan' of Dalit girls during 'Navratri'

In an apparent bid to reach out to the Dalit community in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, scheduled to be held in 2024, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) would be organising a feast for the Dalit girls and also their 'pujan' (on the eighth and ninth day of the Navratri festival nine unmarried girls, who according to the Hindu mythology are considered to represent the nine forms of Goddess Durga, are worshipped) during the ongoing 'Navratri'.

The Sangh would organise mass feasts for the Dalit girls in the Awadh region of the state which includes Ayodhya and its nearby districts.

''The programs are being organised as part of the Sangh's efforts to ensure social harmony and are intended to send the message that it is against untouchability and caste-based discrimination,'' a BJP leader, who was associated with the RSS, said here.

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The leader said that the Sangh would also encourage people to take up the responsibility of educating and undertaking the expenses incurred on their marriage. ''We will encourage those who have the capability to pay for the education, health and marriage of the Dalit girls,'' the leader added.

The move comes close on the heels of the BJP-led UP government's decision to organise special religious events in temples across the state during the 'Ramnavami' (an important Hindu festival celebrating the descent of Lord Vishnu as Lord Rama) and 'Navratri'.

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The state government has also allotted Rs 1 lakh each to all districts to be disbursed among the artists, who will be reciting the ‘Ram Charit Manas’ and singing religious songs at 'Devi Gaan' (songs praising the goddess Durga). The district officials have been asked to ensure maximum participation of women in these religious events, sources said.