Lynching is an alien to Bharat: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
Nagpur: Just days after First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed in Bihar against several intellectuals who had voiced concern over mob lynching, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday termed the act of violence as "alien to Bharat" and should not be used to defame the country, media reports said.
Speaking at the annual Dussehra event here, Bhagwat said as quoted by NDTV, "We hear people of a community beat people from another community. It is not that only a certain community targets people. The reverse also happens. There are cases where what has actually happened gets twisted," Mohan Bhagwat said, adding,"... self-centred forces blames a particular community to stoke fire between communities".
"Branding some incidents of social violence as 'lynching' are actually meant to defame our country, Hindu society and create fear among some communities. Lynching is alien to Bharat and actually has its references elsewhere."
"Lynching itself is a Western construct. It is not the word from Indian ethos. Its origin is from a story in a separate religious text. Don't impose such terms on Indians," he added.
Forty nine Intellectuals including filmmakers Adoor Gopalakrishan, Shyam Benegal, Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Sen, Goutam Ghose, Kaushik Sen, actor Soumitra Chatterjee, historian Ram Chandra Guha in late July wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the slogan in the name of God has become a "war-cry".
The sedition case was lodged two months after an order was passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Surya Kant Tiwari couple of months ago in reply to a petition filed by local advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha.
The police said the FIR was filed under sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) which include sedition, public nuisance, hurting religious feelings and insulting with an intent to lead to beach of peace, report said.
Image Credit: RSS Twitter
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