Mohan Bhagwat on Muslims: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat always remains in headlines, but after his latest statement on Muslims, he is being discussed everywhere.
Mohan Bhagwat has given a statement regarding Muslims along with other issues in the interview given to RSS mouthpieces Organizer and Panchjanya. He has said that there is no need to be afraid of Muslims in India, but along with that Mohan Bhagwat has also appealed to Muslims to give up their sense of superiority.
What is the meaning of the statement of the RSS chief?
A new debate has started with the latest statements of Mohan Bhagwat, Sarsanghchalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Along with social analysis, efforts are also being made to extract political meaning. Reactions have come from all the opposition parties including the Congress. There is a churning in the political circles as to why Mohan Bhagwat had to make such a statement at this time.
First, let’s look at that part of Mohan Bhagwat’s interview, which has created a political hue and cry. Mohan Bhagwat’s statement is as follows:
“The Muslims who are in our India today, there is no harm to them. They want to stay, stay. There is no danger. Yes, we are big, we were kings once, let us become kings again, this will have to be left. We are right, others are wrong, all this will have to be left. We are different, so we will remain different. With all of us We cannot live together, we will have to leave it. Anyone who thinks like this is a Hindu, he will also have to leave it. He is a communist, he will also have to leave it.”
message of security
Mohan Bhagwat had said these things in response to a question related to population imbalance. There is a lot hidden in these sentences of his. Through this, Mohan Bhagwat wants to give the first message that India is absolutely safe for people of all religions. Here he has also added that Muslims have to get away from the feeling of considering themselves superior. Along with the Muslims, he has also tried to help those Hindus who have a sense of superiority. Through Mohan Bhagwat, RSS is trying to strike a balance between Hindu and Muslim.
Statement in view of the anti-Muslim atmosphere
From May 2014, the era of BJP’s supremacy in the politics of the center started. Many such incidents took place in the next three-four years, after which the debate about the security of Muslims in the country intensified. Incidents of mob lynching in the name of cow protection and beef started coming to the fore one after the other. According to Human Rights Watch, between May 2015 and December 2018, 44 people lost their lives in such incidents, in which 36 were Muslims. Some celebrities of the country also intensified the debate by giving statements related to the atmosphere of fear. In the International Religious Freedom Report 2021 (IRF2021) released by the US, it was said that people belonging to minority communities continue to be attacked in India. The report also mentioned incidents of attacks against non-Hindus on charges of cow slaughter or beef trade.
Trying to improve the image at the international level
Mohan Bhagwat’s recent statement on Muslims should also be seen as an attempt to improve his international image. India is currently serving as the chairmanship of the world’s largest economic group, the G20. In the coming few months, through this platform, India has to show that it is ready to lead the world on every front. As the G20 president, India also has to prove that it is the voice of small, poor and underdeveloped countries as well. India does not talk of ‘first world or third world, only one world’. In such a situation, it is very important to send this message to the world that Muslims are completely safe here and Hindus are willing to live together with them. The RSS chief has also emphasized this point in the interview.
Message of ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’
Mohan Bhagwat says that India, the supremely glorious Hindu nation, will guide the world. Mohan Bhagwat also does not miss to say that being a Hindu means considering everyone as one’s own and having the tendency to take everyone along. Mine is right, yours is wrong, it is not like that. Why fight, let’s go together. This is Hindutva. Through these things, Mohan Bhagwat is trying to give the message of everyone’s support and development while emphasizing on Hindutva. PM Narendra Modi They have also been telling this slogan as the main mantra of the central government. Now the RSS chief is trying to bring the spirit of Hindu-Muslim co-existence in the limelight through the statement.
Mission 2024 is also in focus
Only 15-16 months are left for the general elections to be held in 2024. The BJP is also actively engaged in making an election strategy. This time BJP’s intention is to win those seats on which the party was defeated in 2014 and 2019. BJP has identified 160 such seats. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal are the three states where the influence of Muslims is very high in more than 50 Lok Sabha seats. BJP wants to practice the equations of these seats in 2024. Apart from this, it is a big challenge for BJP to practice the math of Muslim majority seats in Telangana, Karnataka, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and some other states. In the 2019 general elections, the BJP won 50 percent of the 90 minority-dominated seats across the country. Since then BJP started feeling that the performance can be further improved by increasing its support among Muslims in such seats. In such a situation, the statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is also being linked to Mission 2024.
Attention to the equations of assembly elections also
Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in 9 states Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram this year. Apart from this, if the security environment is good, assembly elections can also be held in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. All these states are very important for BJP. There are about 8 percent Muslims in Madhya Pradesh. More than 20 assembly seats in MP are Muslim dominated, apart from these there are about 10 seats where Muslim votes are decisive. In Rajasthan too, 15 seats are dominated by Muslim voters. Here in more than 30 seats their votes are very important for victory or defeat. Muslim voters are in a decisive position in about 60 out of 119 seats in Telangana. On the other hand, there are about 65 seats in Karnataka where Muslim votes prove to be decisive. In Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana, BJP does not want to leave any stone unturned to win. It is clear from these figures that due to the increase in the support of Muslim voters in these states, BJP’s path to power can become easier. In such a situation, the statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat can further strengthen the political ground for BJP in these states.
Why created an atmosphere of fear?
In the interview given to the Organizer and Panchjanya, Mohan Bhagwat also expressed his views on the issue as to what has been the attitude of the Hindus till now. He said that staunch Christians say that they will convert the whole world into Christians and those who do not will have to be at our mercy or die. Hardline Islamists also hold the same view that everyone has to accept to follow us because we are the right ones, stay at our mercy or don’t. Mohan Bhagwat further says that the world view of Hindu is not like this at all. Hindu never says that everyone has to be considered Hindu. With these things, Mohan Bhagwat wants to point out that in the changing environment, the situation has itself become difficult for those religions which have had more fanaticism.
Reaction on Mohan Bhagwat’s statement
Different reactions also came from political parties on Mohan Bhagwat’s statement regarding Muslims. Congress leader Kapil Sibal said that India should remain Hindustan, he agrees with it, but human beings should also remain human beings. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that who is Mohan Bhagwat who allows Muslims to live in India and why is he so afraid of Muslims. CPM leader Vrinda Karat termed Mohan Bhagwat’s statement about Muslims as provocative and an incitement to violence.
Trying to break the anti-Muslim image
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has always been making such statements about Muslims, but in recent months there has been a softening in his statements. In July 2021, Mohan Bhagwat had said that the DNA of Hindus and Muslims is the same and India is not complete without Muslims. At the same time, he had also said that the people involved in mob lynching are against Hindutva. He had said that if someone says that Muslims should not live here, then that person is not a Hindu. Similarly, in September 2022, Mohan Bhagwat also visited a mosque and madrasa in Delhi. It is believed that in view of Mission 2024 and the assembly elections, the statements of the RSS chief are very important. Along with this, it is also believed that RSS is trying to break its anti-Muslim image and connect a section of Muslims.
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