MUMBAI: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday hinted at a dialogue with the Muslim community when he said that there was always unity between Hindus and Muslims but it had been forgotten and needed to be brought back. He said that the RSS wanted Muslims and Christians to accept Hinduism, not the religion but acceptance of the fact that all communities were collectively one culture, nation and society. “Dialogue is needed for this,” he said.
The RSS chief was speaking at a session which was part of the two-day lecture series in Mumbai to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Touching on the recent deal imposed on India by the US, he said that while Indian goods must be used, there was no harm in using foreign goods, which were of better quality. “But the trade and exchange should be done according to our own will and not according to someone else’s,” he said. “We should not do it under pressure or because of imposed tariffs.”
Going back to Hindu-Muslim unity, he said that while some conflicts did happen over policies or reactions, as a society Hindus and Muslims had always been together. “That was why freedom fighter Ashfaqullah Khan sacrificed his life and Ibrahim Gardi fought for the Peshwas,” he said.
Referring to Islamic extremism without naming it, Bhagwat said that these tendencies did exist, against which the nation would have to protect itself. “For this, we will have to build strength, but it is only to ensure that we are not harmed, and not to conquer anyone,” he said. “This will have to be explained, for which dialogue is necessary.” The RSS chief hinted that the RSS had planned some steps towards this in the coming days.
Bhagwat insisted that BJP did not mean RSS. “A lot of people mention BJP-RSS in the same breath,” he said. “The BJP is an independent political party. There are Sangh swayamsevaks working in the BJP but the Sangh is much bigger than a political party.”
Bhagwat said that the words ‘Hindus need to unite’ did not have a religious connotation. “We do not limit Hinduism to worship, rituals or ceremonies,” he said. “Hindu is not the name of a specific community. Hindu is not a noun, it is an adjective, a way of life, and in this way there are only Hindus in India. The word Hindu itself has come from outside—it is not found in the Ramayana, Mahabharata or even in the Vedas.”
The RSS chief went on to say that Islam was a monolithic religion with strict exclusivity. “In contrast, in Hinduism, there are many gods, many teachers, many forms of worship and practice but the destination is one,” he said. “No one’s path is wrong and we should accept everyone. Have firm faith in your own belief, but respect the faith of others and live together in harmony.”
Bhagwat claimed that global powers were out to make “a section of Hindus forget that they are Hindus”. “There is a system that wants us to keep forgetting so that we simply blend in and lose ourselves,” he said. “Efforts are being made towards this, to ensure that India does not become strong. If it does, the selfish powers of the world will lose their selfish advantages, and this is the reason behind their hostility and opposition. And for this the organisation and unity of Hindu society is necessary.”
The RSS chief said that India did not want to become a superpower, “as the superpower needs force or the stick, as we have currently been experiencing”. “We want to become a vishwaguru (teacher of the world), not by giving sermons, not by teaching through dominance but by leading from within and by example,” he said. They (the superpowers) understand artha and kama (wealth and desire) but they do not know the path of dharma.”