Hosabale slams Aurangzeb; blames secular forces for not promoting Dara Shikoh

Bengaluru: The RSS on Sunday slammed the proponents of "Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb” for ignoring the Mughal icons who identified themselves with the Indian culture like Dara Shikoh vis a vis his brother and 17th century Mughal emperor Aurangzeb "who stood against Indian ethos".

"Those people who speak about the Ganga-Jamuna culture have not brought Dara to the forefront. The issue is about choosing icons who identified themselves with the Indian soil, culture and tradition and not those who stood against Indian ethos.

Dara fits this definition while Aurangzeb doesn't," RSS Joint Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said on Sunday in his annual press conference at the end of the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) – the highest decision-making body of the Sangh.

The comments came days after RSS leader Sunil Ambekar said Aurangzeb was no longer “relevant”. 

Discussions on Aurangzeb have regained steam after demands by RSS affiliates Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal for the removal of the last major Mughal emperor's tomb from Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambaji Nagar, formerly Aurangabad. 

After assuming power in 2014, the BJP has also made concerted efforts to project Dara Shikoh, the eldest son of Shahjahan, in the Mughal pantheon. Shikoh, known for his intellectual pursuit and religious tolerance, was defeated and put to death by Aurangzeb.

In 2016, the Dara Shikoh Centre for Inter-Faith Understanding and Dialogue was started at the Aligarh Muslim University.

'Invader's mindset a threat'

Hosabale also challenged the long-standing notion of associating the freedom movement with the anti-British struggle. The RSS leader, second in the hierarchy after Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, said: "Is only the fight against the British to be considered as a freedom movement?? What happened earlier, what Rana Pratap did, was also a freedom movement. People with invader’s mindset are still there and they are a threat to the nation."

During a speech in Parliament last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sought to expand the canvas of India’s freedom movement, drawing a parallel with the recently concluded Maha Kumbh at Prayagraj which "reflected India’s new awakening".

'Religion-based reservation unconstitutional'

Hosabale dubbed the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government’s decision to provide 4% reservation to Muslims in contracts for construction works as "unconstitutional".

"The Indian Constitution doesn’t allow religion-based reservation. Courts have overruled such decisions by the undivided Andhra govt and the Sushil Kumar Shinde-led Maharashtra government," he said, adding that backward communities can be provided reservation within a religion.

He further said the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya wasn't an achievement of the Sangh but that of the Hindu society. "Back in the day, when the Somnath temple was reconstructed, Kulapathi Munshi and Rajendra Prasad (first president of India) were at its forefront but RSS wasn’t there. So it’s an achievement of the society.” 

'Everything fine with Modi govt'

When asked about the areas which he felt the Union government should focus more on, the RSS general secretary said: "For now, everything is going well. The Sangh’s swayamsevaks cannot tell the government to do this and that each day. We have a mechanism and if we have some points, we will meet and convey our points to them."