Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday said that a Hindu who believes India should have no Muslims isn’t truly a Hindu.
“If you want to call yourself a Hindu, you must believe that all paths lead to the same. Every human being has their own dignity. You speak of Hindu Rashtra. What about us Muslims? Will you drive us out? If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he ceases to be a Hindu,” he added. His outreach tour also includes Canada and the UK.
“In 2018 during my lecture series in Delhi, several Muslim brothers present there asked me, ‘you are a Hindu organisation. His remarks came hours before his scheduled address to a gathering of around 5,000 people at the iconic Madison Square Garden.
There is no difference between human beings,” Bhagwat told a crowd at a religious conference titled ‘One World One Humanity’ in New York. I told them, ‘no, that is not Hindutva. The RSS leader arrived in the US on Tuesday as part of the organisation’s centenary-year global outreach programme.
Because as human beings, we are prisoners of the software that has been created in our heads,” he said. Truth is one, and humanity is a product of that truth. So humanity is one. And to fit in a religious discipline, and to treat that path to divinity, this discipline of rituals is also necessary,” he added. Bhagwat’s scheduled event at the Madison Square Garden has drawn criticism from several civil rights organisations.
Bhagwat said he works in a society which traditionally says that religions might be different, but humanity is one. “I am not a religious scholar, nor a religious authority like you, but I am working in a society which traditionally says that religions might be different, but humanity is one. That truth is one truth, but it is described in many ways according to the describer. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sparked controversy when he said he does not support the planned event featuring the RSS chief. He, however, noted that the city may not have jurisdiction to cancel the “private” event.
“There are many religions, and in today’s world, religions are largely defined by rituals.
