- Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat emphasised religious harmony in New York dialogue
- Bhagwat stated all human paths lead to the same goal and all humans have equal dignity
- He denied any intent to exclude Muslims from India, calling such views un-Hindu
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat stressed religious amity while speaking at a multi-faith dialogue in New York on Saturday, directly addressing a question he's been asked repeatedly in the past, "What about Muslims?", in the context of the organisation's Hindu-nationalist outlook. "If you want to call yourself Hindu, you must believe that all paths are leading to the same (goal). And every human has dignity. There is no difference between human beings," Bhagwat said.
He then recounted an instance. "I had a lecture, and Muslim brothers were also there. And they asked me a question: 'You are a Hindu organisation, you say Hindu Rashtra, what about us Muslims? Would you drive us out?' I said, 'No, that is not Hindutva'."
He added, "If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat (India), he will not remain Hindu."
He cited another instance from Haryana in India: "Our swayamsevaks (RSS volunteers) serve everywhere, equally... Two planes collided over Haryana, which is part of Bharat, over the place named Dadri... Most of the passengers were Muslims. Our swayamsevaks reached there first. And they served, treating the wounded -- there were very few; all others were dead - and recovering bodies, arranging last rites." He said the RSS volunteers "never thought at that time that 'these are Muslims'."
He further asserted, "The prominently working organisation there was the RSS. We could do this because we were not in politics. And we don't go on making these things famous because we don't want anything from this. No return. We only give; we don't want anything."
He was apparently referring to what's considered the deadliest mid-air collision in aviation history, from 1996, that left all 349 passengers and crew dead. The disaster involved Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight 763 (a Boeing 747) and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 (an Ilyushin Il-76), which collided reportedly due to miscommunication with air traffic control due to a language barrier.
Bhagwat, who is on a US tour that'll see multiple events, faced criticism from Zohran Mamdani, New York's first Indian-American and Muslim mayor, who has termed the RSS, the ideological fount of India's ruling BJP, a communal organisation.
