Kolkata (West Bengal): Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday stated that India is a ‘Hindu nation’, alongside declaring that ‘This is the ideology of the Sangh’, NDTV reported.
Bhagwat, who was addressing an event marking 100 years of the RSS, made it clear that it does not require any constitutional approval to call India a Hindu nation, because it is the ‘truth’.
‘Do we need constitutional approval for that, too? Hindustan is a Hindu nation’, RSS chief declared at the '100 Vyakhyan Mala' program of RSS in Kolkata, adding ‘Whoever considers India their motherland appreciates Indian culture, as long as there is even one person alive on the land of Hindustan who believes in and cherishes the glory of Indian ancestors, India is a Hindu nation. This is the ideology of the Sangh.’
The RSS chief said whether or not the parliament ever chooses to amend the Constitution to call India a Hindu nation, ‘We don't care about that word because we are Hindus, and our nation is a Hindu nation. That is the truth. The caste system based on birth is not the hallmark of Hindutva.’
Bhagwat statements points to RSS argument that India is ‘Hindu Nation’ considering the country’s majority’s ‘affiliation to Hinduism’, and the outfit's criticism of the inclusion of ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ into where they were not originally present in the Preamble of the Constitution through the 42nd Amendment during the Emergency, according to NDTV.
Seeking to dispel the ‘false perception’ of the outfit as ‘anti-Muslim’, Bhaggwat invited people to visit his outfit’s offices and ‘shakhas’ to understand its work.
‘If there is a perception that we are anti-Muslim, then, as I said, the RSS work is transparent. You can come anytime and see for yourself, and if you see anything like that happening, then you keep your views, and if you don't see it, then you change your views. There is a lot to understand (about RSS), but if you don't want to understand, then no one can change your mind,’ Bhagwat reportedly said.