Dehradun, Oct 27: In a bid to rally the Brahmin community ahead of the 2027 Uttarakhand Assembly elections, former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat has called for unity between Sanatan Dharma, the Congress ideology, and the Brahmin community, describing them as deeply interconnected forces that have historically shaped India’s cultural and political ethos.
Speaking to UNI, Rawat said the diminishing role of the Brahmin community in governance coincided with the weakening of the Congress party. “When I studied the early days of independent India, I found Sanatan to be a liberal, inclusive philosophy like the Ganga, capable of assimilating everything. The Brahmins, as the earliest educated class, became the torchbearers of that inclusive approach,” he said.
Rawat asserted that the Congress, under Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership, embodied similar principles of openness, tolerance, and accommodation. “Gandhi made the Congress a reflection of Sanatan values. The coming together of Sanatan, the Brahmins, and the Congress has always strengthened the nation. Let that confluence begin again from Uttarakhand,” he said.
Amid internal criticism over his remarks, Rawat clarified that his intention was not to promote caste politics but to highlight a shared ideological foundation. “Some leaders misunderstood me. They don’t carry the DNA of the Congress they are ‘transplanted’ from other parties that never supported Uttarakhand’s statehood movement,” he remarked, without naming anyone.
The controversy began after Congress state vice president Suryakant Dhasmana termed Rawat’s statement “casteist,” asserting that the Congress has always respected leaders from all backgrounds, citing examples of former Chief Ministers Narayan Dutt Tiwari and Vijay Bahuguna.
Despite the internal discord, Rawat expressed optimism about the party’s future, citing the ongoing Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan (Organisation Building Campaign) as a major step towards revival. “I believe this initiative will encourage more youth from the Brahmin community to take up key responsibilities within the party,” he added.
Rawat’s call for ideological unity comes as the Congress seeks to rebuild its grassroots connect in Uttarakhand, where the BJP currently holds power.