'Don’t dispose of Hindutva while providing Hindu cultural identity'

RSS central executive member Ram Madhav said, “Hinduism is the most inclusive and liberal thought process. In our eagerness to prove our Hindu cultural identity we should not dispose of Hindutva.”

“People stand with pride and self-respect on our cultural identity. This is a good transformation that has happened in the country,” he said after releasing his book ‘The Hindutva Paradigm’ at a programme organised by Citizen Council Mangaluru Chapter at Sanghanikethana.

“We all have to live like one family and that is what the Hindutva nationalism stands for,” he added.

“The Hindutva philosophy is at the focal point of our national life. A majority of the political leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have been trying to prove their Hindutva base. Crores of people in this country are standing for their religious identity,” he said.

During the RSS fund collection drive, about 13 crore people contributed to the temple at Ram Janmabhumi. They included various political parties, including Communist party leaders, Muslims and Christians. This shows the great cultural identity of this country, namely the Hindu identity, which has come to the centre stage, he said.

Those who advocated secularism 10 years ago are now talking the language of Hindutva. The idea of secularism is not bad, but the way it is practised in India is very discriminatory and defective, he felt.

Coming down heavily on former vice president Hamid Ansari’s remark on the ‘emergence of cultural nationalism in India’ at a virtual panel discussion organised by Indian American Muslim Council recently, Ram Madhav said, “My book is all about what is civic nationalism and how irrelevant it is as an idea to India. It also speaks about cultural nationalism and integral humanism for which Hindutva stands for.”

'Reconversion is also right'

Ram Madhav said the Indian Constitution grants religious freedom to every citizen. If conversion is right, reconversion is also right. “Either way, there should not be any fraudulent means through force or allurement. Religious conversions through fraudulent means have been practised in the country,” he said.