BJP to launch ‘Samrasta Sankalp Abhiyan’, month-long yatra from Jalandhar to Varanasi: How Ravidassia outreach factors into UP, Punjab polls

On 27th July (Monday), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced that it is going to commence a nationwide event to commemorate the 650th birth anniversary (Prakash Parv) of the 15th-16th century mystic poet-saint Guru Ravidas.”Samrasta Sankalp Abhiyan” (campaign for social harmony and resolve) will run for nearly seven months from 29th July to 20th February. His birthplace at Seer Govardhanpur in Varanasi would host the official inauguration on Guru Purnima. Asim Arun, Uttar Pradesh’s social welfare minister, shared that it would be kicked off amid special functions on 28th and 29th July. Sacred soil would be collected and worshipped (maati pujan) at Seer Govardhanpur on 28th July. 131 kalash (urns) would be transported in a grand procession to his Janmabhoomi Temple for ceremonial worship from the memorial complex of Guru Ravidas. Teams with kalash from multiple states and districts in Uttar Pradesh would gather at Varanasi for this purpose. Every hamlet would be handed over 104 kalash loaded with this soil, and another 27 would be delivered to other states. BJP delegates from 98 organisational district units and six regional divisions in Uttar Pradesh and 27 other states would receive the kalash and then take them to different temples and sant sammelans (congregations). Several programs would be organised on the occasions of Magh Purnima and Guru Ravidas Jayanti in different parts of India. BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath,h along with Dera Sachkhand Ballan chief and head of Guru Ravidas Janam Asthan temple, Sant Niranjan Das would all be present for the ceremonial launch. From Deepotsav to month-long yatra and more: BJP plans multiple events BJP national general secretaries Tarun Chugh and Dushyant Kumar Gautam also informed that 131 kalash would be sent around India from Varanasi. 21,000 locations would conduct social harmony initiatives, and 51,000 temples would witness the festival of lights. A “Guru Ravidas Maharaj Samrasta Deep Abhiyan” would be performed as 11,000 lamps would be lit at Ravidas Ghat and his memorial site. All BJP mandals and temples dedicated to the saint would observe the Deepotsav on 29th July. The party officials highlighted that the Modi government has developed his place of origin, pilgrimage routes, airports, special trains and restored a number of sites associated with Guru Ravidas in order to preserve his legacy. According to Chugh, the goal of the recent effort is to spread his teachings on equality, social peace and public enlightenment. They pointed out that Sikandar Khan Lodi, the Tughlaqs and Timur or Tamerlane were “engaged in carrying out religious conversions and demolishing temples across the country” in that age. Gautam stated, “At that time, their only slogan was ‘the sword or the Quran.’ During that mediaeval period, people had no means of expressing their views, and there was an atmosphere of widespread distress everywhere.” He added that “many great saints of the Bhakti movement, including Goswami Tulsidas, Kabir Das, Sant Tukaram, Guru Nanak and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu,” emerged who “carried the knowledge and values preserved in Sanskrit to the masses through their respective regional languages, thereby creating public awareness and providing new direction to society throughout the country.” The BJP spokesperson conveyed that Guru Ravidas made a very important contribution at that time and hence was awarded the title of “Sant Shiromani Guru Ravidas Ji” by Kabir. According to Gautam, his 650-year-old concept of an egalitarian society was well ahead of its time. In 1837, Abraham Lincoln started a campaign against slavery, and Dr BR Ambedkar enshrined the values of equality, liberty and fraternity while crafting the Constitution. “However, long before them, Guru Ravidas had already conveyed the message of ‘chhote-bade sab base’ (small and big live together). He envisioned a casteless society and ‘Beghampura ‘, a place where there is neither sorrow nor suffering,” he expressed. Lal Singh Arya, national president of the BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha, emphasised that the objectives are to foster social harmony between all groups and guarantee that every community is involved in building a developed India. He stated that the saint’s way serves as the cornerstone of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas,” and this mission would evolve into a widespread movement for social harmony and national unity. “Guru Ravidas worked for human welfare, equality, and social harmony. He was against religious conversion. His message and ideas will be taken to people through 650 jayanti programmes,” Arya stressed. He revealed that state-level workshops were scheduled from 20th to 23rd July, district-level workshops from 25th to 27th July and a national workshop was arranged in Delhi on 19th July for this aim. These preparations transpired in 18 states. There are scheduled to be five primary phases to the campaign. The national, state, district, and mandal levels would take out the “Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj Kalash Vandan Abhiyan” from 29th July to 10th September. BJP delegates from 98 organisational district units and six regional divisions in Uttar Pradesh and 27 other states would receive these kalash and then take them to different temples and sant sammelans (congregations). A Sant Sampark Abhiyan would also unfold from 29th July to 31st August as saints, mahatmas, gurus and mahants would be requested to bestow their blessings. From 5th October to 5th November, the “Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj Samrasta Yatra” would depart from Jalandhar to Varanasi, traversing Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. The “Shri Guru Ravidas Maharaj Chhatravas Sampark Abhiyan” is slated from 26th November to 15th January. Furthermore, students, hostels and religious outfits would participate in the outreach drive and processions. BJP is also set to arrange gurbani recitation and bhajan sandhya. Its top leaders would address a Samrasta Sankalp Sabha, and the party has been instructed to ensure an audience of at least 25,000 people. A critical decision at a pivotal moment Assembly elections are scheduled to take place in five states, including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, in early 2027. However, BJP leaders have strongly refuted any association of the yatra with these polls. The party has celebrated Guru Ravidas Jayanti on a large-scale in the past as well. However, this is the first time such a long drive has been designed to connect with the Dalit population, who follow him and are known as Ravidassias, and are heavily concentrated in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, The Indian Express reported while quoting insiders. Dalits make up 21% of the population in Uttar Pradesh, and 84 of the state’s 403 assembly seats are reserved for them. Together, the BJP and its allies Apna Dal (Soneylal) won 63 Scheduled Caste (SC) seats in the 2022 assembly elections while the then Samajwadi Party-led opposition alliance gained 20. The 117-member assembly in Punjab, where Dalits make up 32% of the population, has 34 seats set aside for the community. None of these seats was secured by the saffron party in the assembly elections of 2022. Over 12 lakh Ravidassias reside in the Doaba region of Punjab, which includes the districts of Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshar and Jalandhar. The Dalits constitute approximately 45% of this area, which is far higher than the state average. Interestingly, the 2022 assembly elections were rescheduled from 14th February to 20th February after parties objected that the dates would conflict with Guru Ravidas Jayanti, which brings a lot of Ravidassias to Varanasi. The prominence of Dalits in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab politics has attracted the BJP’s special attention on the community ahead of the upcoming contests. Notably, the yatra between Jalandhar and Varanasi would stop in cities and villages, especially those with a large Dalit population between Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. How the Modi government historically honoured Guru Ravidas On 1st February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Punjab to commemorate the 649th birthday of Guru Ravidas. He went to the highly influential Dera Sachkhand Ballan, a major spiritual centre of the global Ravidassia community in Jalandhar, to pay respects and engage in the public festivities. Founded in the early 20th century, it progressively became a focal point for Dalit assertion, specifically among Chamars, who have historically been subjugated to untouchability and usually have a link with the leather industry. Its supremo, Sant Niranjan Dass, has been conferred the Padma Shri this year. Likewise, the Sant Ravidas Express, the first direct AC train between Amritsar and Varanasi, has been introduced by the government this month, satisfying a long-standing wish of the Ravidassia community a few months after PM Modi met Sant Niranjan Das. Countless devotees travel to Seer Govardhanpur each year, mainly from the Doab region,n to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas. For years, the devotees had been waiting for a direct train on this route, specifically with air conditioning in the carriages. The Sant Ravidas Express would improve travel comfort and lessen the heavy traffic during the yearly festivities. A special tent city is also being planned for his 650th birthday, which is projected to be an even larger assembly. PM Modi joined the celebration of the 647th birthday of the revered saint and spoke at the occasion in Varanasi on 23rd February 2024. He also laid the foundation stone for the Sant Ravidas Museum and unveiled the latter’s statue in a park next to his temple at Seer Govardhanpur. On Ravidas Jayanti in 2022, PM Modi similarly visited the Shri Guru Ravidas Vishram Dham Mandir in Delhi’s Karol Bagh. He indulged in the “Shabad Kirtan” and enthusiastically played “Jhika” in tune with the songs dedicated to the saint.