Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Credit: PTI
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that only Hindus are allowed in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. However, Bhagwat made the statement asserting that Hindu is not a religion, but anyone who is a native of India is a Hindu.
Bhagwat said that Brahmins, Muslims or Christians are welcome to join RSS shakhas if they leave their “separateness” behind and come as “sons of Bharat Mata.”
Speaking at the 100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons lecture series, Bhagwat was responding to a question on whether Muslims are allowed in the Sangh.
“No Brahmin is allowed in Sangh. No other caste is allowed in Sangh. No Muslim is allowed, no Christian is allowed in the Sangh. Only Hindus are allowed. So people with different denominations—Muslims, Christians, any denomination—can come to the Sangh but keep your separateness out,” he said.
"Your speciality is welcome. But when you come inside Shakha, you come as a son of Bharat Mata, a member of this Hindu society. Muslims come to Shakha, Christians come to Shakha, as all other castes from the routinely called Hindu society, they also come to Shaka. But we don't take their count, and we don't ask who they are. We are all sons of Bharat Mata. That is how Sangha works..."
His comments came a day after he said that “Hindus are responsible for Bharat,” asserting that the RSS seeks to organise Hindu society for the nation’s glory, not for power. Bhagwat had also said that there are “no Ahindus (non-Hindus)” in India since everyone shares the same ancestry and follows “Bharateeya culture.”
“There is actually no Ahindu in Bharat. All Muslims and Christians are descendants of the same ancestors. They probably don’t know it, or they are made to forget it,” he said on Saturday.
He reiterated, “Sanatana Dharma is Hindu Rashtra and organising Hindu society is essential to preserve India’s unity while embracing diversity. Our tradition is to create unity without disturbing diversity. Diversity is the decoration of unity,” Bhagwat said.