New Delhi: An Urdu version of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s book ‘Bhavishya Ka Bharat’ is being released on 5 April by the National Council For Promotion Of Urdu Language (NCPUL). The book titled ‘Mustakbil Ka Bharat’ is based on a series of lectures delivered by Bhagwat in September 2018, and has been translated into multiple Indian languages.
Dr Aquil Ahmad, the book’s translator and director of National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, said the book is an attempt to “do away with the misconceptions Muslims have about the RSS”. It will help Islamic scholars and the intellectuals of the Muslim community understand the ideology of the organisation, he added.
“The idea of Hindutva is incomplete without Muslims. This is what Mohan Bhagwat ji conveyed in his lectures in this book, that Hindutva is not Hindu religion, but the culture of India. He appealed to Muslims to read and be a part of RSS’ shakhas. For past couple of years, Muslim intellectuals are curious about the RSS. That is why we thought of translating this book, which explains the idea of India and our role in building the future of the country,” he told ThePrint in a telephonic conversation.
Dr Khan said the council has invited several Islamic scholars, intellectuals and academics, including critics for the launch. The Sah-Sarkaryavah Krishna Gopal will also be present during the launch, which will have Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal in attendance too.
RSS leader and patron of Muslim Rashtriya Manch, Indresh Kumar, said the initiative is an attempt to “bring the Urdu-speaking population to the mainstream and to ensure their participation in building the future of the nation”.
“Hindustan is the home to Urdu language. The book has been translated in other Indian languages as well. This will benefit the Urdu speaking population … the future of India can be built with the collaboration of all the communities,” Kumar said.
Firoz Bakht Ahmed, chancellor of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, called this a “positive step as Urdu is the language of communal harmony”.
“I hope this becomes a movement and a cue for other Muslim scholars and intellectuals to build bridges with the RSS. These kind of initiatives will create a domino effect, the wall between RSS and Muslim community should now stop,” he added.
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What Bhagwat said
The 112-page book is based on the speeches delivered by Mohan Bhagwat on 17-19 September 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi. These speeches were made in one of the first of its kind outreach programmes by the RSS, in which Bhagwat addressed prominent personalities from all walks of life and answered questions in a Q&A session on topics such as the concept of Hindutva, the ideology of RSS, casteism and women issues, etc.
During his speech, Bhagwat said that everyone who resides in India and identifies as Indian is Hindu.
Bhagwat had also said that the concept of Hindu Rashtra does not rest on the alienation of any community or faith. “Hindu Rashtra does not mean there is no place for Muslims. The day it becomes so, it won’t be Hindutva. Hindutva talks about one world family,” he had said.
Speaking on Ram Mandir, Bhagwat had said that the construction of a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya will help in ending a major reason of tension between Hindus and Muslims, and if the temple is built in a harmonious way, then there will be “no more pointing of fingers towards Muslims”, he said.
(Edited by Manasa Mohan)
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