(Ram Rajya Parishad)
(Ram Rajya Parishad) (Ram Rajya Parishad) (Ram Rajya Parishad) ( Northern
India's first political party was founded in 1947, shortly after India's
independence.
Swami Karpatri, a well-known contemporary Hindu ascetic,
created it.
The word Ram Rajya has mythological connotations, alluding
to the time of virtuous reign by Rama, the protagonist of the epic Ramayana,
after his return from a four-teen-year exile in the jungle.
Rama's reign is said to have been characterised by perfect peace,
justice, and social harmony.
The Ram Rajya Parishad aimed to restructure India in
accordance with the mythological period's ideal, and the party's political
agenda was firmly based on conservative Hindu religious beliefs.
The party firmly thought that the caste system, with its
historic separation of social rank and work, was necessary for a
well-functioning society.
Most low-caste individuals would have been doomed to a life
of slavery in this position, but the party did provide them with a few scant
opportunities for progress.
One of them was managing shoe manufacturers, since upper
castes consider leather to be spiritually unclean, and hence working with
leather is a typical low-status employment.
Apart from their views on the caste system's legality, the
Ram Rajya Parishad also supported other traditional Hindu issues, such as a
complete ban on cow slaughter and the manufacturing and use of liquor.
The Ram Rajya Parishad drew its support mostly from
orthodox, upper-class Hindus, notably those living around the Ganges River.
Outsiders have no reason to embrace it because of its
conservatism.
Although it enjoyed little electoral success in the years
after independence, the party had been reduced to a marginal influence within a
dozen years.
