ICC Note: Shankaracharya Swaroopandanda Saraswati, a Hindu cleric in India, claimed that the RSS and BJP have done the most damage to the ideals of Hinduism through its sectarian outlook and policies. Since taking power in 2014, attacks on religious minorities, including Muslims and Christians, have skyrocketed. Much of this is caused by the sectarian rhetoric used by BJP leaders that encourage the activities of radical Hindu nationalist groups across India.  

05/03/2018 India (India Today) – While the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is busy redefining Hinduism according to its own sectarian outlook, the Hindu saints are not pleased by the way the religion of peace is being vitiated by this organization.

Commenting on the role BJP and RSS are playing in increasing communal tensions in the country, Shankaracharya Swaroopandanda Saraswati of Dwarka Peeth told India Today that the BJP and RSS have caused the biggest damage to the ideals of Hinduism in the recent years.

He further said that it is surprising that the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat does not know anything about Hinduism.

“Bhagwat says that Hindu marriage is a contract, whereas Hindu marriages are solemnized for life. Bhagwat says anyone who is born in India is Hindu, then what would someone who was born in England or America from Hindu parents be,” the Shankaracharya asked.

Answering a question, he said that the BJP leaders are the biggest exporters of beef and it is the same two-faced BJP that is purportedly against cow slaughter, calling beef export a blot on the face of India. He asked if the BJP has kept any of the promises it made to the country. He demanded to know if the Article 370 has been removed from Kashmir, have the youngsters of the country been given gainful employment, have the poor of India been given the Rs 15 lakh they were promised, has the Ram temple been constructed in Ayodhya. He said that these are the questions that the BJP leaders, including PM Modi, fail to answer now, but these were all the promises they had made when they were campaigning for elections in 2014.

…

For interviews with William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, please contact Olivia Miller, Communications Coordinator: [email protected]