Nagpur: CM Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday backed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat‘s remarks on Hindu inclusiveness, while declining to comment directly on what Bhagwat had said. He, however, insisted that tolerance was very soul of Hindutva.Bhagwat, addressing an interfaith gathering at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday, had said a Hindu who believed there should be no Muslims in India “ceases to be a Hindu” and argued that public opinion, not political power, was the starting point for lasting change in society.Bhagwat’s event in New York faced protests from certain groups which alleged RSS advocates majoritarianism. Fadnavis, while speaking at a media interaction in Nagpur on Sunday, said India respects every community. Fadnavis said Hindu civilisation had survived as world’s oldest precisely because it absorbed rather than resisted centuries of invasions.“Hindu civilisation gave refuge to communities rejected elsewhere, including Jews and Iranian migrants, making them part of its mainstream culture,” he said and argued that this history was proof enough that Hindus needed no instruction in tolerance. “Don’t teach Hindus about religious tolerance. Tolerance is in the blood of Hindus,” he said.Fadnavis added that tolerance was not to be mistaken for passivity. “Tolerance does not mean taking a beating. It means carrying everyone along, treating everyone equally and respecting all religions. If someone attacks you, there should be resistance. But a Hindu never attacks first,” he said.
