Q: Will you explain the concept of ‘Hindu Rashtra'? What will be the role of minorities like Muslims and Christians in a ‘Hindu Rashtra'? Will they be equal partners or they will be reduced to second grade citizens as they fear?
Ram Madhav: For understanding the concept of ‘Hindu Rashtra'; all you have to do is to understand the concept of Gandhi's ‘Ram Rajya'. When Gandhi ji talked about Ram Rajya, similar questions were raised as to whether it was part of Hindu supremacy theory. I would say,' Hindu Rashtra' is a concept which represents age old Indian Hindu cultural values. These values will play the supreme role in running all the affairs of the country including politics, social system and economic model.
Hindu social order is the most egalitarian, most tolerant, and most catholic order. It is the Hindu system which believes that irrespective of your way of worship, you are respected, we are one and we are all equals. So that is what the essence of Hindu Rashtra is. It is the system based on age old Hindu cultural and civilization values. It's not a religious system. It has no communal agenda.
Coming to place of minorities in this system, firstly, Hindu ethos does not treat somebody as minority merely because he follows a particular way of worship. In our views, we are all equals. Nobody is minority or majority. Anybody who prefers to follow a particular way of worship will be free to do that but on one condition – we all have to live as equals.
Q: But what is your problem with secular India?
Ram Madhav: Does secularism mean treating people differently because of religious identities? Or true secularism should mean treating everybody on equal footing irrespective of whatever religion he belongs to? We believe that let's have different ways of worship but all of us should live as one people, one society as equals and that is true secularism.
But if you are trying to say that in the name of secularism, a particular group of people should be given special privileges because they follow a particular way of worship, we don't subscribe to that kind of secularism.
Q: How do you look at the secularism that is being practiced in this country?
Ram Madhav: In this country what is being followed is pseudo-secularism. Secularism in real sense should mean that state should treat all religions equally and it should maintain equidistance from all religions. In this country, it is just the opposite. In this country, the state divides our nation on religious lines in terms of majority and minority. We need true secularism.
