HVK Archives: President's Hindutva elation
President's Hindutva elation - The Indian Express
P. Venugopal
()
December 18, 1998
Title: President's Hindutva 'relation'
Author: P. Venugopal
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: December 18, 1998
KR Bhaskaran, "a man wedded to the Hindu Dharma and culture" -
nothing dramatic till you know that the latter attributes
regarding the man come from a top RSS official; and the subject
is the 'Sarvadhikari', or chief patron, of the ongoing RSS Sangh
Shiksha Varg (training camp) at Mattancherry in Kochi. And, the
man happens to be he younger brother of President K R Narayanan,
and he holds strong views on all political events from the
demolition of the Babri Masjid to the emergence of a two-party
national equation.
Conventionally, the annual training camp, an intellectual
exercise for youth, is officiated by the Sarsanghchalak (supreme
leader) of the RSS. The fact that K R Bhaskaran was chosen to
represent the Sarsanghchalak at the training camp is a pointer to
the hart reposed by the RSS leadership in him and his keenness to
actively associate himself with that organisation.
"K R Bhaskaran is wedded to Hindu culture and dharma right from
his younger days. For the past one year, he is taking keen
interest in our activities. He was_the chief guest at the last
Vijayadasami day celebrations organised by us at Uzhavoor, his
home village", said Nanda Kumar, state saha baudhik pramukh of
the RSS, one of the organisers of the camp.
In an interview with The Indian Express, which took place at his
ancestral house at Uzhavoor yesterday with his elder sister, K R
Gowri, 73-year-old Bhaskaran said he is impressed by the
discipline, and patriotism of the RSS cadres.
Asked whether he approved of the demolition of Babri Masjid, he
said the issue has been politicised by interested parties. "The
Muslims in Uttar Pradesh are least concerned about the demolition
of the disputed structure. There are instances galore of
demolition of places of worship m world history. Even in India,
several Hindu temples have been razed to the ground in the march
of history. But this doesn't offer any justification for acts
like demolition of Babri Masjid. We cannot take revenge on
history," he cautioned.
But as regards the ideology of the RSS who are adamant on budding
a temple at the Masjid site, he says, "I don't think that RSS is
a fundamentalist or terrorist outfit as propagated by its
opponents. I see Christians joining the RSS in Kerala and Muslims
in UP. After all, Hinduism is the most tolerant religion in the
world and for the same reason Hindu culture has survived the
onslaughts of foreign invasions. As the inscription on the Asoka
Pillar states, a religion which respects other religions alone
win have the staying power".
About the state of the nation, Bhaskaran felt happy that a two-
party system with the Congress and the BJP occupying the opposite
poles is evolving in India. This is good for the future of Indian
democracy, he felt. The political turmoil witnessed now-a-days in
and out of parliament according to him is nothing but the
birthpangs of a bi-polar polity. The communists and the third
front it supposedly leads with either have to align with either
of the two groupings or face political wilderness.
He felt the Vajpayee Government was doing a reasonably good job
within the limitations imposed by a disparate coalition. "If
coalition has worked successfully in western countries like
France, there is no reason why it should fail in India with a
long democratic tradition," Bhaskaran says.
"Vajpayee is the finest politician India has produced after
Nehru. We are fortunate to have two men of outstanding integrity
and eminence - Vajpayee and Advani - to guide the destiny of the
nation at this critical juncture. The Government should be
allowed to complete its term. Any attempt to bring down this
Government would he self-destructive", Bhaskaran warned,
asserting in the same breath that he has no intention of joining
the BJP
About Sonia Gandhi's entry into politics, he said as a legal
citizen of this country, she has every constitutional right to
take part in political activities and even become the Prime r of
the country if she secures the people's mandate.
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