New Delhi, May 2: The Rashtriya Swayamsewak
Sangh (RSS) has described the Sikh faith as
a separate religion belonging to "one great
Hindu samaj".
In a view that may not go well with BJP's ally
Akali Dal, the Sangh says it sees a "problem"
if minorities assume a "political"
character.
Spelling out its stand on minorities on its
Website rss.org under a mission header, it says
it believes the Hindu Code Bill is applicable
to Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists and that it should
be applicable to all, including the Christians
and the Muslims.
"The RSS believes in the plural structure
of society. Therefore, it recognizes that there
is bound to be a majority-minority syndrome,
and hence each group, whether in the majority
or minority, will have a distinct identity and
distinct character," it says.
But minorities, according to the Sangh, should
restrain themselves from overstepping their
basic character.
"... the majority-minority distinctions
must be restricted to the bases on which the
minority character is sought to be claimed.
... the problem arises when a particular minority
transgresses the basis of its minority character
and assumes a political one." it says.
In its stand on Sikhism, the Sangh has called
it a separate religion but its followers part
of Hindu samaj.
"We regard the Sikh religion as a separate
religion, but we regard the Sikh people as belonging
to our samaj. When we say that they are a part
of the one great Hindu Samaj, we do not deny
the existence of their separate religion and
separate beliefs. The Hindu samaj is a commonwealth
of many religions," it says.
The samaj, it adds, includes idol worshippers
as well as those who oppose idol worship and
those who accept the authority of the Vedas
as well as those who do not. They are all included
in the wider Hindu conceptualisation, the Sangh
says.
"Many Sikhs attend RSS Shakhas, but nobody
is asked to remove his beard or his pugree (turban).
The RSS will never try to obliterate the identity
of the Sikhs. That will be against the very
grain of the RSS," it says
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