HYDERABAD: A day after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat sought to cast Hindutva as inclusive and embracing all religious communities, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi dared him to reject the anti-minority theories of prominent RSS and Hindutva ideologues.
Speaking to mediapersons on Wednesday, Owaisi said, “Vinayak Damodar Savarkar had said that Hindustan was neither a holy land for Muslims nor their fatherland. I am challenging Bhagwat to reject his saying and this theory of Hindutva.”Savarkar, a Hindu nationalist was a leading figure in the Hindu Mahasabha and in fact he coined the term Hindutva to “create a collective Hindu identity as an essence of Bharat”.
On Tuesday, Bhagwat speaking at RSS’ first-of-its-kind public outreach event, said, “Hindu Rashtra does not mean that there’s no place for Muslims. The day it is said that we don’t want Muslims, it won’t be Hindutva.” Owaisi slammed Bhagwat further and also asked him to reject M S Golwalker, the second Sarsanghchalak of the RSS’ teachings. “Golwalker in his book, ‘Bunch of Thoughts’ had said that Muslims and Christians are a threat to the nation’s internal security. Will Bhagwat reject this?” he said.
“Will Bhagwat reject the fact that in 1947, there was an article written in Organiser (a magazine affiliated to RSS), which said that the three colours on the national flag represent evils?” he asked.
Owaisi termed Bhagwat’s recent lectures as a ploy “to win respectability” and to create a “media blitzkrieg”.