The RSS Chief Should Give Up the Hypocritical Stand on Religious Amity

The de facto ruler of contemporary India Mohan Bhagwat states “Insulting others’ gods is not our culture” and that everyone has the right to worship their god and follow their religion in the country to reduce friction in society. He also condemned raking up issues in the name of religion and said that insulting other cultures or deities is unacceptable. Well and good. In the meantime, the Vishva Hindu Parishad contacted more than 350 MPs across all political parties, under its annual Sansad Sampark Abhiyan (MPs outreach programme), and discussed issues like the “liberation of temples” and the Waqf Amendment Bill, among others. On one side, the unquestionable leader of the Sangh Parivar calls for amity. At the same time, his disciples are setting the ground for “liberating” more Muslim places of worship and increasing friction in society which he states, are unacceptable and “not our culture.” If Bhagwat is sincere in his words, he should ask his disciples to stop their malicious activities instead of issuing public statements contrary to the activities that his disciples are engaged in.