RSS Chief Frowns Upon Temple-Mosque Disputes, Talks Harmony

Delivering a lecture on ‘India – The Vishwaguru’, at Sahjeevan Vyakhyanmala (lecture series) here on Thursday, Bhagwat advocated for an inclusive society and said the world needs to be shown that the country can live together in harmony.

Highlighting the plurality of Indian society, the chief of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said Christmas is celebrated in Ramakrishna Mission, adding “Only we can do this because we are Hindus”.

“We have been living in harmony for a long time. If we want to provide this harmony to the world, we need to create a model of it. After the construction of the Ram Mandir, some people thought they could become leaders of Hindus by raking up similar issues in new places. This is not acceptable,” he said. The Ram temple was constructed since it was a matter of faith for all Hindus, Bhagwat said.

“Every day a new matter (dispute) is being raked up. How can this be allowed? This cannot continue. India needs to show that we can live together,” he said without mentioning any particular site. Several demands for surveys of mosques to unearth temples have found their way to courts in the recent past, though Bhagwat did not mention any by name in his lecture.

Some groups that came from outside brought with them staunchness and they want their old rule to return, he said. “But now the country runs as per the Constitution. In this setup, people choose their representatives, who run the government. The days of hegemony are gone,” he asserted. He said the rule of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was characterised by such staunchness, though his descendant Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1857 banned cow slaughter.

“It was decided that Ram Mandir in Ayodhya should be given to Hindus but the British sensed it and created a rift between the two communities. Since then, this sense of ‘algavwad’ (separatism) came into being. As a result, Pakistan came into existence,” he said. Bhagwat asked why the “language of dominance” was being used if everybody identifies themselves as Indians.

“Who is a minority and who is a majority? Everyone is equal here. The tradition of this nation is all can follow their own forms of worship. The only requirement is to live in harmony and abide by rules and laws,” the RSS chief asserted.