New Delhi [India], August 31 : Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind President Maulana Arshad Madani on Sunday challenged Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat to match his statements on communal unity abroad with concrete action on the ground in India.
Madani was responding to Bhagwat's speeches during an event in the United States, where the RSS chief said "unity in diversity is in Bharat's DNA" and that any Hindu who advocates driving Muslims out of the country ceases to be a true Hindu.
Questioning why the RSS continues to retain individuals who make anti-Muslim remarks, Madani posted on X, "If a Hindu who talks about driving Muslims out of the country isn't a Hindu, then Mohan Bhagwat ji, please tell us -- why doesn't RSS expel such people from its organisation?"
https://x.com/ArshadMadani007/status/2094070817655333296
He expressed concern over the rising incidents of mob lynchings, calls for social and economic boycotts, attacks on mosques and madrasas, and attempts to question the citizenship rights of minorities in India.
"Speaking of unity, brotherhood, and respect for all religions in America is commendable, but the real need for this message is in India today," Madani stated.
"If Mohan Bhagwat truly wants to put this idea into practice, he should openly distance himself from those who spread hatred and take effective action against them to prove that this isn't just something said abroad."
Reiterating that India belongs equally to followers of all faiths under its secular Constitution, the Jamiat chief emphasised that principles must be judged by implementation rather than speeches. He demanded clear accountability regarding when strict measures will be taken against hate-mongers to protect equal constitutional rights across the nation.
Earlier, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi also criticised Bhagwat's remarks on Hindu-Muslim unity, alleging that the statement was aimed at presenting a different image of the organisation across the world while its "key thinkers and writers" held contrary views on minorities.
In a post on X, Owaisi wrote, "RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat says, 'If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu.' This is the oldest trick in the RSS playbook: some words are for the world, and some are for its own members. The RSS has never disavowed its key thinkers and writers. What do they say about Muslims and other minorities?"
While speaking at the 'One World One Humanity' event in New York on Saturday, Bhagwat said that there was no difference between human beings and that different religious paths lead to the same goal. He emphasised the traditional Indian thought of "unity of humanity".
"If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu. If you want to call yourself Hindu, you must believe that all paths are leading to the same goal and that every human has dignity. There is no difference between human beings," Bhagwat said.
Reacting to the RSS chief's remarks, a Hyderabad MP alleged that the RSS had not contributed to the freedom struggle and claimed that its founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar left the Indian National Congress because he opposed the participation of all religious communities in the anti-British movement led by Mahatma Gandhi.
"It is well known that the RSS did not contribute to our freedom struggle. Its founder, Hedgewar, was in the Indian National Congress but left it because he was against all religious communities joining the anti-British freedom struggle led by Gandhi," Owaisi's post read.
The AIMIM chief also alleged that for the RSS, Indian Muslims and Christians were "internal threats" number one and two, respectively. Referring to Golwalkar's book Bunch of Thoughts, he said it contained a chapter titled 'Internal Threats', where Muslim and Christian citizens were described in such terms.
Owaisi claimed that Golwalkar wrote that Muslim citizens should be treated with "perpetual suspicion". Referring to Christians, he quoted Golwalkar as saying that the community was "out to demolish not only the religious and social fabric of our life".
He further alleged that under the RSS ideology, Muslims were being subjected to Hindu law in the name of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), while Christians were being targeted through "draconian anti-conversion laws". He also raised concerns over the alleged misuse of laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
"My request to Bhagwat is that he should just recite choice extracts from the poisonous works of Savarkar, Hedgewar, Golwalkar, etc. Let people decide what they make of the RSS," Owaisi said.