RSS chief disavows Sansad's Muslim genocide threat, says it is not Hindutva
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Nagpur: Disavowing any link to the controversial hate speeches made at Haridwar and in Delhi, RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat said that the statements and ideology propagated at the Dharma Sansad events were not representative of Hinduism or Hindutva.
"Whatever came out in the Dharam Sansad events were not Hindu words, a Hindu deed or a Hindu mind," Bhagwat said. His remarks were made at an address during the 'Hinduism and National Integration' lecture organized on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of a newspaper in Nagpur.
"Hindutva is not an 'ism', the English translation of Hindutva is Hinduness. It was first mentioned by Guru Nanak Dev, It is not mentioned in Ramayana, Mahabharata, Hindu does not mean a confined thing, it is dynamic that constantly changes with experience," the RSS chief declared.
He further said that the statements made in view of personal gains or enmity do not represent Hindutva. "RSS or those who actually follow Hindutva do not believe in this misplaced meaning of it. Balance, conscience, affinity towards all is what represents Hindutva," he stated.
"Even Veer Savarkar had said if the Hindu community gets united and organised, it will speak about the Bhagwad Gita and not about finishing or harming anyone," the RSS chief said, claiming that even if he sometimes said things out of anger, that did not represent Hinduism or Hindutva as a whole.
When asked about the aims of creating a possible Hindu Rashtra, Bhagwat replied that Hindu Rashtra was already present whether anyone accepted it or not.
Hate speeches targeting minorities were delivered by a number of Hindutva leaders at a three-day conclave held in the pilgrimage city of Haridwar from 17-19 December 2021.
The event, organised by the controversial Hindutva leader Yati Narsinghanand, had seen multiple calls to incite violence against and kill minorities. Two arrests have been made in the case so far.
On 3 February, senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar had condemned the incendiary remarks made against the Muslim community in Haridwar.
"Any kind of hate speech is condemnable. All hate speeches must be condemned and punished as per law. Nobody should be treated as an exception," he had said.