New Delhi

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat reiterated that Islam has been a part of India since its introduction, and will remain in the country, while those who think that the religion will vanish are "not guided by Hindu thought".

"From the day Islam came to India, it has been here and it will remain here. I had said this earlier, too. Those who think Islam will not remain are not guided by Hindu thought. Hindu philosophy does not think this way. Only when there is trust on both sides will this (Hindu-Muslim) conflict end. First, we must accept that we are all one," Bhagwat said here on Thursday.

Intruders

Addressing a program on the third day of the centenary celebrations of RSS in Delhi, Bhagwat said 'infiltration' is a problem which needs to be stopped in the country, as the 'outsiders' are taking away jobs of Muslims too.

"Infiltration must be stopped. The government is making some efforts and moving ahead gradually. Muslims living in our country are also citizens. They too need employment. If you want to provide jobs to Muslims, give them to our own citizens. Why should we give it to those who come from outside? Their own countries should take responsibility for them," the RSS chief remarked.

Meat Ban

On religious sensitivities during festivals, Bhagwat said, "During fasts, people prefer to remain vegetarian. If during those days certain scenes are presented, sentiments could be hurt. It is only a matter of two or three days. It is sensible to avoid such practices during that time. Then there will be no need for any law."

Population issue

Speaking on population, the RSS chief said every citizen of India should ideally have three children. "The population should remain controlled and sufficient. From this perspective, there should be three children -- not more than that. Everyone should accept this," he stated.

"Our country's population policy recommends 2.1 children, on average. But when one has children, then they don't have 0.1 children. In maths, 2.1 is 2, but with the birth of children after 2, it is 3, which is why 2.1 means 3. Every citizen should see that there should be three children in his/her family," Bhagwat said.

However, a recent United Nations Report on the state of the world's population has warned that India's birth rate has declined to 1.9, less than the aim of maintaining 2.1.

"This is a vision for the country. Secondly, there is a concern too. Population is an asset, but can be a burden too. We have to feed everyone, which is why the population policy recommends this. In one way, the population is controlled, and on the other hand, it is sufficient; that is why 3 (children) should happen, but after that, it should not increase too much, looking at giving them a good upbringing. This is a thing to be accepted by everyone," the RSS chief added.

He said that a decreasing birth rate has been happening across communities, including Hindus.

"A decreasing birth rate is happening for everyone. For some time, the birth rate of Hindus has been falling, and it is happening even more. Others did not happen to have such a change, so it is being shown prominently, but theirs is also decreasing. Nature does this often. If resources are less and population is more, then this happens," he said.

Invaders

Replying to question, Bhagwat said,"Ram temple was the only movement RSS supported. Kashi-Mathura reclamation movement will not be supported by Sangh, but volunteers may take part in it.

He also said the cities and roads should not be named after invaders. I did not say that there should be no names of Muslims. They should be named after Veer Abdul Hamid and Abdul Kalam. There should be no names of invaders.

Ties with BJP

Bhagwat dismissed the claims that Sangh decides on the president post for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that it was "absolutely wrong".

 Responding to whether the RSS decides the BJP president, Bhagwat said, "It is absolutely wrong to say that the RSS decides everything. We can give advice, but decisions are made in that field itself. If we were deciding, would it take so long? Take your time."

He further clarified that there are no issues of conflict. "We may have differences of opinion, but not differences of hearts," he said.

Interesting episode

On opposition from political parties towards the RSS, Bhagwat recalled, "Initially, Jayaprakash Narayan was against the RSS, but later he came closer to us. Those who seek our help for good work receive it, while those who keep away don't. What can we do?"

He narrated an incident from Nagpur, where the NSUI convention had 30,000 participants but no food arrangements.

"Plates were thrown, chaos broke out, and fights happened in the market. Eventually, a call came from the local Congress MP, and we took over the mess arrangements to resolve their issue. At that time, I was the RSS pracharak in Nagpur," Bhagwat said.

During the interaction, he also mentioned former President Pranab Mukherjee.

Bhagwat said, "He too came to the RSS stage. Whatever misconceptions he had were cleared. Anyone's heart can change. One should not dismiss the possibility of transformation. Leadership should always be transparent and clean. People must have faith that our leadership is transparent and clean."

Reservations

Mohan Bhagwat that the Sangh has been supporting reservation and will continue to do so until its beneficiaries feel it is no longer needed and they can stand on their own.

"The Sangh already supports the reservation provided as per the Constitution. It will always be there. And until the beneficiaries of the reservation feel that it is no longer needed, discrimination is over, and that they can stand on their own, we will support it," the RSS chief said.

He said the Sangh passed a resolution in favour of reservation when Balasaheb Deoras was the RSS chief.

Bhagwat said, “When the resolution was brought, there were completely different opposing views on this. Our then Sarsanghchalak (RSS chief) Balasaheb ji listened to the discourse during the entire session and said 'Imagine that you were born in the family of those people who have suffered the sting of caste discrimination for a thousand years and then speak in the next session'", Bhagwat said.

In the next session, the resolution in support of the reservation was passed “unanimously”, he added.

Bhagwat said RSS swayamsevaks firmly stand against atrocities committed against people belonging to the underprivileged sections.

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“Wherever such things happen, swayamsevaks (RSS volunteers) should go there. They must stand up for truth and justice and ensure justice to the victims, and also see that such incidents do not lead to fights in society. All these are expected of volunteers,” he said, responding to a question about why the Sangh does not appear to be firmly standing against such atrocities.

“If this does not happen for any reason, then it is our fault. Bring it to the notice of local Sangh workers. It will be taken care of,” he added.