New Delhi: Father Savrimuthu of the Archdiocese of Delhi voiced concern over RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement that all ‘Hindustanis’ are Hindus and said India was a pluralistic country, but Mr Bhagwat had tried to put all under one umbrella. “Our nation is great, and known for unity and diversity... now you (RSS) are trying to make one nation, one religion, one culture, trying to put everybody under one umbrella, which is not right,” he said.
Seeking to downplay the row over the controversial comments, BJP leader Vinay Katiyar said, “What he (Bhagwat) meant by Hindu was Hindustani. He never spoke about interfering in religious practices of people.”
The RSS chief had on Sunday asked if inhabitants of England are English, Germany are Germans and USA are Americans then why all inhabitants of Hindustan are not known as Hindus.
“The cultural identity of all Indians is Hindutva and the present inhabitants of the country are descendants of this great culture,” Mr Bhagwat had said while speaking at the golden jubilee function of an Odia weekly in Bhubaneswar.
The RSS chief went on to say that Hindutva was a way of life and Hindus could be of any religion worshipping any God or not worshipping at all.
