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According to the late Golwalkar, Chief of R.S.S. and the present Chief Deoras, religion need not be a compelling factor in determining the nationhood of a people. Religious Unity was long considered to be a potent unifying force in Europe and all means were employed by many states to secure such unity among their inhabitants. To the R.S.S. it was not an indispensable factor in its concept of the nation. It was more a matter of conscience and must cease to colour the loyalities and outlook of the people about social and political matters. A common way of life rather than a common form of worship had been the most conspicuous feature of the Hindu national existence. The Hindu concept of unity or integration is harmony, certainly not uniformity. A man can be Hindu by nationality and at the same time be a Sanatani or an Arya Samaji, a Muslim or a Christian, a Sikh or a Buddhist.
In Golwalkar's Hinduism there is room enough for Jesus, as there is for Mohammed, Zoroaster and Moses. He would have been shocked if anybody had suggested anything less than equal rights to Muslims or Christians. He considered it as un-Hindu to discriminate between any two persons just on the basis of religious faith. He put it thus :
"The non-Hindu who lives here has a Rashtra Dharma (National responsibility) a Samaja - Dharma (Duty to Society), a Kula-Dharma (Duty to ancestors) and only in his Vyakti-Dharma (Personal faith) can he choose any path which satisfies his spiritual urge. If even after fulfilling all those various duties in social life, anybody says that he has studied the Quran Sharif or the Bible and that way of worship strikes a sympathetic chord in his heart and that he can pray better through that path of devotion, we have absolutely no objection".
To a question - do you not approve religious toleration in respect of Islam & Christianity? Golwalkar and Deoras have repeatedly replied that they not only tolerated them but respected them. The R.S.S. wants India to be a land of many religious faiths as in the past, all equally honoured and respected, but of one National outlook.
Author : Shripaty Sastry
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