Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has emphasised India’s cultural and religious diversity, saying that different religious paths lead to the same ultimate goal and that every human being deserves dignity and respect.
“If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu,” Bhagwat said while addressing the ‘One World One Humanity’ event in New York on Saturday.
“You must believe that all paths are leading to the same goal and that every human has dignity. There is no difference between human beings,” he said, recalling a conversation with a group of Muslims who had asked him about Hindutva.
Bhagwat said he belongs to a tradition that recognises differences between religions while maintaining that humanity is fundamentally one.
“Truth is one, and humanity is a product of that truth. So humanity is one. That truth is one truth, but it is described in many ways according to the describer. Because as human beings, we are prisoners of the software that has been created in our heads,” he said.
Bhagwat is in New York as part of a three-nation global outreach tour covering the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The visit comes during the RSS’s centenary year celebrations and was undertaken at the invitation of overseas organisations associated with the Sangh.
Addressing the RSS’s relatively limited public outreach, Bhagwat said the organisation focuses more on service than publicity and stressed the importance of public opinion in a democracy.
“In Sangha, we only give. We don't want anything. That is why in publicity matters, we are way behind... Politics today, especially in a democracy, depends on the public view. If there is public opinion, then no politician will dare to go against it,” he said.
Bhagwat also elaborated on the RSS’s philosophy of unconditional humanitarian service, recalling the organisation’s response to the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision in Haryana, in which two aircraft from Arab countries collided, killing a large number of passengers, most of them Muslims.
“Two planes collided over Haryana, which is part of Bharat, over the place named Dadri. Both were from Arab countries. Most of the passengers were Muslims. After that collision, our Swayamsevaks reached there first, and they served. Served in treating the injured... Recovering their bodies, arranging for the funeral rites when their relatives come, helping them in identifying. We never thought at that time that these were Muslims,” he said.
Addressing what he described as misconceptions about the organisation, Bhagwat said the RSS had been the subject of narratives that did not reflect its actual work.
“There are many perceptions created by wrong narratives. But when you come and see us from inside, all those will be disbelieved in the day,” he said.
