CAA does not oppose any particular religious community: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat

Hinduism is a common denominator that honours and encompasses innumerable distinct identities, Bhagwat said

Hindutva as a word is applicable to all Indians, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday. He also said that 'Muslim brothers' were misled by those who waned to oppose the CAA and the law is not against any community.

Addressing the annual Dasshera rally in Nagpur virtually, Bhagwat said, “Hindutva is the word expressing our identity along with the continuity of its spirituality-based traditions and its entire wealth of value systems in the land of Bharat. Therefore this word is applicable to all 1.3 billion people.

According to him, ‘Hindu’ is not the name of some sect or denomination, not a provincial conceptualisation, neither a single caste’s lineage nor privilege of speakers of a specific language. “It is a common denominator that honours and encompasses innumerable distinct identities,” Bhagwat said.

Reiterating the Sangh Parivar’s concept of Hindu and Hindutva, Bhagwat said: “When Sangh says ‘Hindustan’ is ‘Hindu Rashtra’ it does not have any political or power centered concept in its mind. Hindutva is the essence of this Rashtra’s ‘Swa’ (self-hood). We are plainly acknowledging the selfhood of the country as Hindu.”

He said that Hindu culture has expressed itself in diverse forms. “But, some groups are trying to spread hatred and aggression in society by creating insecurity among them, stating that diversity will be finished if they identify themselves as 'Hindu',” he noted.
"Acknowledgement of the fact that the emotional spirit of Bharat, its acceptance for and support to multiple belief systems and faiths, is a by-product of the Hindu culture, traditions and Hindu thought,” he said.

On the issue of CAA, he said, “CAA does not oppose any particular religious community But those who wanted to oppose this new law misled our Muslim brothers by propagating a false notion that it was aimed at restricting the Muslim population."

“Using CAA, opportunists unleashed organised violence in the name of protests. Even before something could be thought out, coronvairus crept in. In the background, the efforts by rioters and opportunists to reignite the conflict still continue,” said Bhagwat.