india

Updated: Feb 18, 2020 10:51 IST

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi, was a staunch Hindu and he never shied away from showing his credentials, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Monday. Gandhi even described himself as “an orthodox sanatani Hindu”, said Bhagwat.

“He travelled to understand India and became one with aspirations and sufferings of India and that is why he was never ashamed of being a Hindu. He said I am a staunch ‘sanatani’ Hindu. He also taught to respect other religions,” Bhagwat said at the launch of a book on the relevance of Mahatama Gandhi by former NCERT director JS Rajput.

The RSS chief said that India which Gandhi dreamt of is yet to be formed but he has full faith in the present generation that they will realise this even if it is 20 years from now.

“Young generation instills confidence in him that if not today, in the next 20 years, there would come a time when on October 2, we could tell him that he can work with peace in India,” said Bhagwat.

Citing Mahatama Gandhi’s policy of opting for honesty and atoning for his mistakes when his experiments failed, Bhagwat said those who are responsible for fostering movements in the current scenario that turned violent are neither held responsible nor do they make amends.

“Sometimes Gandhiji’s movement went wrong, but he knew his method was wrong and not his intent. He used to atone for that and take responsibility. But the movements that are going on today, if there are law and order problems is there anyone who will atone? Is there anyone who will take responsibility? If there is a lathicharge or firing, the ones who are killed atone, the one imprisoned have to face courts. But those who organise these movements either win or lose,” Bhagwat said.

The comments came in the backdrop of the protests against the amended citizenship act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The book was launched at the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, where Gandhiji fell to the bullets of assassin Nathuram Godse on January 30, 1948.

According to a functionary of the RSS, Bhagwat is the first Sangh chief to visit Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti.

The RSS has praised the Union government for bringing CAA that fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslims from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Criticising those who are responsible for stoking unrest, Bhagwat said, for India’s future, it is imperative to follow the follow Gandhi’s first lesson that honesty is everything. “Honesty is not a policy, it is everything…” Bhagwat said.