Open To Dialogue With Muslims: RSS

The Delhi riots might have triggered a welcome backlash with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) deciding to initiate a direct dialogue with the Muslims of India aimed at pacifying fears and assuaging concerns about the complex troika of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR), and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The saffron mothership that some would say controls much of the nation’s politics of the day with its actions and reactions, believes the riots were a direct consequence of a disinformation campaign launched by forces inimical to peace and progress of the country.

“The protests and the violence are not about misinformation. The government has done a commendable outreach to inform about the objectives of the new law. If despite that a motivated disinformation campaign has blocked facts from reaching a great mass of minorities, we would engage with them over a sustained dialogue,” a top source said in a briefing about the organization’s plans to tackle the fallout of the Delhi violence.

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When asked about the perception issues that have got created in the global community about India, the source said the world has no locus for commenting on an issue that is entirely an internal matter of the country. Suggesting American commentators against the Indian law first study the Lautenberg-Spectre amendment, he attributed much of the global reactions to double standards and disinformation. It seems that the RSS had put across a comprehensive compilation of both facts and ideological position on the issue on a dedicated website cab.getfacts.in

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The leadership in the body reflects some of the views in the government – ruled by the BJP – that Islamist Popular Front of India (PFI) and radical left All India Students Association (AISA) was directly responsible for the violence that rocked Uttar Pradesh and parts of Delhi in the months of December and February. “The links are clear, and the government should take the investigation towards a logical conclusion,” he said.

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Admitting difficulty in locating the interlocutors for a dialogue with Muslims, the leader said, “we nevertheless would like to do it in the larger interest of peace and progress of the country.” Unlike say the Ram temple issue where the contours of community leadership were clear, in the case of CAA protests the lead has been taken by forces that have separatist sentiment guiding them, believes the organization. “The fact that mainstream opposition parties, including the Congress, desisted from being seen with the protesters beyond a point, is proof that even they were uncomfortable with the radical direction of the protests.

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