A confirmation of meeting with Bhagwat doesn't mean that we are going to consider her demand. Bhagwatji meets everyone and hence will meet Desai too."
Women's rights activist Trupti Desai, who has been making enough noise off late for leading the "equal rights to pray" movement at prominent temples and the Haji Ali shrine, has now challenged the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for being a male-only organisation. The RSS is the parent body of the ruling BJP.
In a letter to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat early this week, the chief of the Pune-based group Bhumata Brigade has sought equal opportunities for women in the shakhas and on the stage of RSS events. She has sought an audience with the leader to apprise him about her concerns over the patriarchal rules of the 90-year-old organisation which prohibits women.
And the Sarsangh Chalak, as the RSS chief is called, has agreed to meet her. The meeting is expected to take place in July as Bhagwat is busy attending summer campus of the Sangh till June.
RSS leader from Pune Aniruddh Deshpande was asked by the Nagpur HQ of the Sangh to meet Desai in her Pune office on Tuesday. Deshpande confirmed the development. "I was asked by Bhagwatji's office to convey the message to Desai that we have received her letter. And due to preoccupancy of the Sarsangh Chalak in the summer camps of the Sangh, a meeting is possible only in June or July," he added.
But because Bhagwat has agreed to meet Desai, who was an unknown figure till this January and has been part of the Congress, does that mean that he might consider her demand? Deshpande rejected the suggestion. "No.
A confirmation of meeting with Bhagwat doesn't mean that we are going to consider her demand. Bhagwatji meets everyone and hence will meet Desai too."
Deshpande, however, cancelled his visit to Desai's office to avoid the media glare and decided to speak to her over the phone. "I dropped the idea to meet her personally as I came to know that journalists had arrived there. And I am not authorised to speak to the media," he added.
The organisation calls itself the world's largest NGO. It claims to have nearly 52,000 shakhas (branches) across India. While it has penetrated in the Northeast and southern states recently, it has also expanded to over 40 countries under the title "Hindu Sevak Sangh". Moreover, it has several dozen affiliated organisations.
At the same time, it is also possibly the only big organisation which bars women. It has been at the target of the left group for its ideology, uniform, and patriarchal views.
Deshpande said, "We have a Rashtriya Sevika Samiti for women. They also conduct shakhas like RSS. Men and women can't do exercise and participate in sports together due to physiological differences; hence, their organisations are also separate."
Sangh members say women shakhas are running "successfully" in Nagpur, Nashik, Solapur and Pune. Besides, in Hindu Sevak Sangh meetings, members can participate along with the family.
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