INDIA's Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Saturday (29) that if any Hindu thinks there should be no Muslims in Bharat (India), he will not remain a Hindu.
The Hindu leader made the remarks while addressing the One World: One Humanity Faith Leaders' Summit in New York.
RSS is a massive, influential Hindu volunteer organisation in India.
Bhagwat said that in Bharat, people of all denominations live. "By tradition, Bharat has given shelter to everybody. Those who could not find a safe place in the world came to Bharat, where they found their place," he said.
"We as RSS think, because we have this knowledge that world humanity is one, it is our duty to go all over the world and tell everybody that, despite diversities, we are one," he said.
"Muslim brothers asked me a question: You are a Hindu organisation, you see Hindu Rashtra, what about us Muslims? Would you drive us out? I said, no, that is not Hindutva. If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslims in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu," he said.
"Where there is 'me' and 'mine', there is no solution. 'We' and 'ours' is the solution," he added.
"We (RSS) are serving. While serving, we don't see discrimination. Whoever is in need, we are serving. As many as 130,000 service projects are being run by our Swayamsevaks with the help of society. They served everywhere and served equally," Bhagwat said.
Bhagwat arrived in the US on Tuesday (25) as part of the RSS centenary-year global outreach programme. His outreach tour also includes Canada and the UK.
In the US, he is scheduled to address a gathering of around 5,000 people at the iconic Madison Square Garden.
He has also held meetings and discussions with members of the diaspora, Indian American business executives and community leaders.
The RSS chief also visited the Bhakti Centre in New York and paid tributes to Indian spiritual leader Srila A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
