‘Hindu identity is civilizational, not religious’: US RSS general secretary Hosaba Rai

Kuomintang (RSS) General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabarai on Thursday (local time) refuted accusations of Hindu supremacy and spoke about India’s global image during an interaction at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC.When talking about the operation of RSS, Hosabale said: “RSS is a people’s volunteer movement inspired by the cultural spirit and civilized values ​​of ancient Indian society, that is, Hindu culture… In order to cultivate volunteers with personality, self-confidence, a sense of serving the community and organizing society, RSS organizes rallies every day and meets for one hour every week.“He added, “Through these one-hour gatherings, we inculcate values ​​of life…create human social capital for social progress and national unity…RSS provides services like relief activities during natural disasters…RSS volunteers have created nearly 40 civic institutions.”Explaining the organization’s view on identity, he said: “In the RSS’s view, Hindu identity is a civilizational identity, not a religious identity…The RSS has always emphasized cultural spirituality and civilizational values ​​that are not directly related to religion.”Responding to claims that the RSS is a Hindu supremacist organization, he said: “Hindu philosophy and culture has not always been supremacist… We see the oneness of every human being, living or non-living. When this is the basic philosophy of Hindus, the supremacist nature of Hindus cannot exist.” Historically, Hindus have never invaded any country or enslaved any people. Hindus have nothing to apologize for. “Hosabale also touched on the global perception of India, saying, “The US misunderstanding of India is not just about the RSS… The US misunderstanding of India is that India is overpopulated, full of slums, poor, a land of snakes, slums and swamis. India is also a tech hub… India is the fourth largest economy in the world.”He added, “The common perception among Americans is somewhat oblivious to these things. Also, with regard to the RSS, whether intentionally or unintentionally, or as part of an agenda, there is a perception that the RSS is Hindu supremacist, somehow anti-Christian, anti-minority, anti-women development and anti-modernization. Supporters are not always informed,” he said.On regional tensions and dialogue, Hosabale said: “Tensions come and go due to political interests, misinterpretation of history and other mechanisms. The RSS believes that a sustained and comprehensive dialogue with all these groups will certainly help in dispelling doubts… The RSS is engaging in such dialogue with the minority groups and their leadership. “He further said, “Tensions between neighboring countries are due to multiple factors because of the political leadership of the neighboring countries. Many times over the past few decades, mutual relations and trust between each other have been damaged… The problem exists only in one neighboring country, which was born from the womb of India. It has become a neighboring country but there are many people who are creating problems behind the back of the country.”“