Staff Reporter
SHILLONG:
The state president of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ernest Mawrie, has clarified that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat never said that every resident of India is a Hindu.
Mawrie said that he was present when Bhagwat was addressing a gathering held at U Soso Tham auditorium on Sunday.
He said that the RSS chief said that when in ancient days the people from southern part of the Indus went for trade with Persia and other countries they were known as Hindus.
“That is what he said. He never meant that all people of the country were Hindus,” Mawrie stated.
Mawrie said that according to Bhagwat the word Hindu was used by people who traded with merchants from India.
India is a vast country and even in Hindu religion there are hundreds of beliefs.
According to the state BJP president, the RSS chief said that the organisation is not here to convert every person of the country to Hinduism.
Mawrie reiterated that in his speech, Bhagwat said that India is a democracy where every religion is respected.
“He said that we respect every religion be it Christian, a Parsi, a Buddhist or a Muslim. He said that we are not here to convert everyone into Hindu, that is wrong,” the state BJP president further stated.
He said that some people are trying to mislead the public on the issue.
According to Mawrie, the RSS chief said that he is not against any religion but is opposed to the idea of India as a nation like terrorism or degrading the environment.
“The RSS is a social organisation with branches all over the world,” he said adding Bhagwat wouldn’t have said what was reported in the media.
Asked if all this confusion was because the speech was in Hindi and whether in the future those coming to the state should speak in English so that there is no misunderstanding, Mawrie said that during the function apart from Hindi, the programme was also conducted in Khasi.
Besides, Mawrie said that nowadays everyone understands Hindi.