Author: Sandeep Mishra
Publication: The Times of India
Date: January 25, 2004
"Muslims and Christians in India
should not be labelled as minorities as they have their genetic roots here,"
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief K S Sudarshan said on Friday, at the
end of his three-day trip to the state.
The RSS chief observed that even
though Parsis and Jews settled in our country have a claim on the minority
tag, they do not use it. "Parsis and Jews do not have their genetic roots
in this country. Still they do not call themselves minorities," he said.
The veteran swayamsevak argued that
Muslims and Christians who were rooted to the country's heritage and culture
should be considered Hindus because the term Hindu refers to a "way of
life, view of life" and not any religion. "Even the Supreme Court has given
this observation," he said.
"Hindustan is one of the most tolerant
places in the world. It believes that God is one and there are different
ways to reach Him.
"Once Muslims and Christians accept
this, all disputes would come to an end," he said. According to him, a
person should be allowed to follow any path to attain mokshya (salvation)
without severing his ancestral bonds.
"Why should I change my name from
Sudarshan to Sanderson if I were to pray in a church? Or, why should I
be renamed Sudar Khan to be allowed entry into a mosque? Why should I have
to cut off ties with my forefathers to practise any religion?" he asked.
Coming down heavily on proselytisation,
Sudarshan said notwithstanding the claims made from different quarters,
conversion activities are rampant in Orissa.
"Everybody knows that nobody would
change his/her religion without allurements or coercion. The claims that
no conversion is taking place are absolutely false," the RSS chief contended,
while accusing Roman Catholics of attempting to spread their beliefs across
India and Asia .
Eulogising the efforts made by Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose, Sudarshan castigated the Communists for laying a
claim on Netaji, even though he was not one of them.
"Netaji's image is growing in people's
mind because he had played a great role in ensuring our Independence ,"
he said, adding, "The Congress has all along attempted to relegate to the
background freedom fighters other than their own. They have even tried
to defame persons like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Veer Sawarkar."