Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi has once again criticized the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), accusing the organization of trying to erase India’s diverse histories, cultures, and traditions. Gandhi made these remarks during a protest organized by the DMK student wing against the University Grants Commission (UGC) draft rules.
Speaking to the protesters, Gandhi stated that the RSS’s objective is to impose a singular ideology, history, tradition, and language on India, undermining its diversity. “For some time now, I’ve been saying that the RSS’s aim is to eliminate all other histories, cultures, and traditions in this country. This is their starting point, and it is what they ultimately want to achieve,” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader also accused the RSS of attacking the Constitution as part of a broader plan to dominate the nation’s cultural and educational spheres. He added, “They attacked the Constitution because they want to impose their own idea, their own history, their own tradition, and their own language on the entire country.”
Gandhi criticized the RSS’s influence on the education system, describing it as an attempt to push their narrow agenda. “The moves they are making with the education system across different states are just another attempt to promote their ideology,” he said.
Reaffirming his support for protests like the one led by the DMK students, Gandhi emphasized that the RSS must be held accountable. “I hope more protests like this occur because the RSS needs to be made to understand that they cannot attack the Constitution, they cannot attack our states, and they cannot erase our cultures, traditions, and histories,” he stated.
The protest in New Delhi was in response to the UGC’s new draft rules, which critics argue threaten India’s federal education structure. The proposed guidelines suggest that candidates for faculty positions in higher education institutions could qualify by passing the UGC-NET in any subject, even if their undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are in different fields.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the guidelines, which also propose changes to the selection process for vice-chancellors, broadening eligibility to include professionals from academia, research institutions, public policy, and industry. Under the new rules, the subject of a candidate’s PhD will take precedence over the disciplines studied at undergraduate and postgraduate levels when selecting faculty.
