Bhagwat says no Hindu can reject Muslims in Bharat

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Saturday that a Hindu who believes there should be no Muslims in Bharat “will not remain a Hindu”. Speaking at the One World: One Humanity Faith Leaders’ Summit in New York, he said the RSS sees humanity as one despite diversity.

Bhagwat said Bharat has, by tradition, given shelter to people of all denominations and to those who could not find a safe place elsewhere in the world. He said the organisation believes it is its duty to tell people across the world that, despite differences, “we are one”.

Referring to a question put to him by Muslims about the idea of Hindu Rashtra, Bhagwat said: “Muslim brothers asked me a question: You are a Hindu organisation, you see Hindu Rashtra, what about us Muslims? Would you drive us out? I said, no, that is not Hindutva. If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslims in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu.” He added, “Where there is ‘me’ and ‘mine’, there is no solution. ‘We’ and ‘ours’ is the solution.”

Bhagwat also said the RSS does not discriminate while serving people in need. “We are serving. While serving, we don’t see discrimination. Whoever is in need, we are serving. One lakh thirty thousand service projects are being run by our Swayamsevaks with the help of society. They served everywhere and served equally,” he said.

Bhagwat arrived in the US on Tuesday as part of the RSS centenary-year global outreach programme, which also includes Canada and the UK. During his visit, he has held meetings and discussions with members of the diaspora, Indian-American business executives and community leaders. He is also scheduled to address a gathering of around 5,000 people at Madison Square Garden. The RSS chief visited the Bhakti Centre in New York and paid tributes to Indian spiritual leader Srila A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Overall, Bhagwat’s remarks and engagements in the US centred on unity, service and the RSS’s outreach during its centenary year.

With PTI Inputs

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