From inculcating a sense of ‘ Bharatiyata’ (Indianism) among people in Punjab to laying more emphasis on the expression of Hindutva, members of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) brainstormed over the right wing organisation’s topical issues at its ongoing Akhil Bharatiya Baudhik Varg (all India intellectual group meet) in Mathura.
Speaking of the meeting at Mathura’s Keshav Dham, attended by over 300 people associated with various Sangh affiliates, one of the attendees told The Hindu that participants on the first day discussed at length the rising separatist call for Khalistan in Punjab.
“It is obvious that with recent cases like that of Amritpal Singh, there is growing anti-India sentiment in Punjab. This not only weakens the country but also portrays India in a bad light abroad as a large part of the Punjabi Sikh community has family members living in other countries,” the RSS source said.
The source added that the RSS has decided to work over time in Punjab and inculcate a sense of “ Bharatiyata” and “ Hindutva” among the people of the State as they are “Hindus and a part of Bharat”.
The RSS has been concerned about separatism in Punjab since the 1980s, with the issue finding special mention in the resolutions it passed in that decade. This is also when the RSS set up the ‘Rashtriya Sikh Sangat’ for its work in the State. The organisation has from the beginning maintained that “foreign forces” are behind the anti-India sentiments in Punjab and believes that there is an urgent need to tackle this now.
Another attendee spoke of the organisation’s approach to Hindutva. “The term Hindutva is generally portrayed in a negative way and we need to fix this. Neither Hinduism nor Hindutva is negative. It’s all about the way we are expressing it. There was an hour-long discussion on how to express Hindutva so that it reaches all corners of the globe,” he said.
In the meeting, attended by the RSS’ joint general secretaries Arun Kumar and Ram Lal, and publicity-in-charge Sunil Ambekar, among others, discussions were also on religious conversions, which the RSS sees as happening at an accelerated pace in parts of southern India. Ideological differences between Muslims and Christians, and how to ensure that it “doesn’t affect the unity and integrity of the country”, were also discussed, sources said.
When contacted, Mr. Ambekar declined to share information on the meeting.
