The reality, however, is that Bhagwat has been making the DNA remarks in different ways. One of the different ways he had spoken about it was in September 2018 at the RSS conclave on "Future Bharat" in New Delhi.
He had said "Hindu Rashtra doesn’t mean there’s no place for Muslims. The day it becomes so, it won’t be Hindutva. Hindutva talks about one world family."
"Sangh works towards universal brotherhood. And the cardinal principle of this brotherhood is unity in diversity. This thought comes from our culture, which the world calls Hindutva. That’s why we call it a Hindu Rashtra," he said.
Therefore, it is not perestroika as the Indian Express would like us to believe.
So, what did Bhagwat say? He said many things, but I will address them one by one.
He said: "Hindu-Muslim unity is misleading as they are not different, but one. The DNA of all Indians is the same, irrespective of religion."
And, all hell broke loose. The Owaisis, the Digvijay Singhs, and others jumped into the fray and reacted vehemently. Their reactions are normal, but reactions coming from right-wing influencers were surprising enough.
I want to ask them what is wrong with Bhagwat's DNA comment? Don't the Hindus and Muslims share ancestors, culture, and the motherland? Is it not a historical truth that the ancestors of the Indian Muslims were Hindus eons before Islam was born?
And, how would the Arabs identify Indian Muslims? Is it not a fact that they identify Indian Muslims as Hindu Muslims just like they identify Muslims from Turkey or Afghanistan as Turkish and Pashtun or Uzbek Muslims? After all, the Arabs had coined the word "Hindu". So, ethnically too the Hindus and Muslim DNA is the same.
Also, I want to ask the right-wing influencers what wrong Bhagwat did when he said Hindus indulging in lynching are not Hindus. If they disagree, aren't they admitting that Hindus are lynchers?
Actually, the political ramifications of Bhagwat's remarks have not been understood well by right-wing influencers. These remarks have come ahead of the Uttar Pradesh elections and have the potential of negating Muslim consolidation against BJP. And, this was the main reason for the BJP to suffer losses in the West Bengal assembly elections.
The Sangh strategists understand well that it is necessary for the BJP to win the Uttar Pradesh elections at any cost. And they want to take maximum benefit out of the wave that is in favor of the BJP, which registered a resounding victory in the Zilla Panchayat Presidents election, totally wiping out opposition parties from its root.
In such a scenario, Bhagwat's Hindu-Muslim brotherhood remarks should help BJP reap electoral gains just as it did ahead of the 2019 general elections after it fought for the rights of Muslim women by addressing the Triple Talaq issue.
And the most important point, these influential right-wingers are missing is that Bhagwat's remarks have the potential of wooing the Liberando Hindus, who should feel elated that the top Sanghi leader is singing their line of thought.
Shouldn't this be understood as further consolidation of Hindu votes? After all, bringing the Liberando Hindus on board with the BJP is a herculean task than pacifying non-Hindus. I believe the right-wing influencers wouldn't disagree much.
Jai Hind.
