Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat condemned the raking up of issues in the name of religion and said that insulting other cultures or deities is unacceptable. Criticising the trend of raising disputes and relating it to Ayodhya's Ram temple, Bhagwat said, "Everyone should be able to practise their way of worshipping in this country."
He said that the Ram temple was a matter of faith and Hindus had felt the necessity to build it, however, raising issues about new sites out of 'hate and enmity' is unacceptable.
Speaking in Pune as a part of a lecture series on the theme 'Vishwaguru Bharat', Bhagwat's remarks came in the backdrop of new controversies surrounding the origins of places of worship including Shahi Jama Masjid in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district and Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan.
"India should set an example of how different faiths and ideologies can live together in harmony," Bhagwat said.
'Indians should learn from past mistakes'
The RSS chief said that Indians should learn from their past mistakes and strive to make their country a role model for the world, showing how inclusivity could be practised by avoiding contentious issues. "Extremism, aggressiveness, forcefulness, and insulting others’gods is not our culture," Bhagwat emphasised. There is no majority or minority here; we all are one," Bhagwat added.
"Big announcements are being made about world peace. We (India ) are also being advised about world peace, but at the same time, wars are not stopping. While we are often asked to worry about the minorities in our country, we are witnessing what kind of situation minorities are facing outside," he said.
While the RSS chief made no reference to the violence against the Hindu community in neighbouring Bangladesh, the RSS has, in recent weeks, expressed concern about the situation of the Hindus in that country after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government.
(With PTI inputs)
