BHOPAL: On the third day of its think-tank meeting here at the Madhya Pradesh capital, theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) debated on the theory of Hindutva. About 25 organisational ‘pracharaks’ gave their presentations on Saturday after which RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Vishwa Hindu parishad (VHP) international working president Praveen Togadia addressed the gathering of 190 saffron thinkers. It was specifically pointed out that Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists cannot be considered minority communities because they are part of the Hindu society. All attempts to categorise these three religious groups as minority should be seen as a conspiracy.
Construction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, uniform civil code and article 370 also came up for discussions and debate. The RSS meet blamed the previous Union government’s weak and ineffective foreign policies for creating a dismal and forlorn image of the country before the international forums.
Addressing the gathering Mohan Bhagwat said that the RSS does not consider Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists as different from Hindus. He also argued that Hinduism is not a religion but a way of life and the concept of Hindu `rashtra (nation)’ and nationality comes from our ancient culture and tradition. Bhagwat explained that the sages of ancient India passed on the belief in the nation. He, however, pointed out that Hinduism has always bonded with other cultures and accepted different traditions. Hence, Hinduism teaches to bond with people.
While Bhagwat’s address was stately and exalted, Praveen Togadia gave a fiery speech true to his style. His discourse stretched from Indo-Pakistan relations, terrorism, Ram Mandir construction in Ayodhya to the BJP’s manifesto promises. Once a close friend of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but having turned bete noire, Togadia reminded that the BJP manifesto promised the construction of the Ram temple, revoking article 370 from Kashmir and uniform civil code.
He said he trusted the new government and the party will fulfil these promises made.
The RSS national campaign chief Manmohan Vaidya called a press conference on Saturday afternoon. He said that activists from not just the RSS but allied saffron organisations like the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), VHP, BJP were also participating in the six-day think-tank meet. He said that the meeting has discussed in detail the unhealthy practices and divide created by the caste system in the holistic integral Hindu society. He said the next meet of the RSS intellectuals is scheduled for Lucknow before Diwali.