Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 23: Amidst the on-going row over eulogising the Moghul emperor Aurangzeb, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabole on Sunday slammed the “advocates for the Ganga-Jamuni culture” which promotes harmony between the Hindu and Islamic cultures and questioned the iconisation of historical figures who were “against India’s ethos.”
Addressing a press conference at the conclusion of the three-day Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), the highest decision-making body of the RSS, in Bengaluru, Mr Hosabole said the proponents of the “Ganga-Jamuni culture” never considered idolising Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb’s elder brother, who is said to be a pioneer of such an idea.
Dara Shikoh was the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and is said to be a pioneer of interfaith understanding in India. He’s described as a “liberal Muslim” who sought to find common ground between Hindu and Islamic traditions.
Shikoh was declared Crown Prince in 1655 but was defeated by Aurangzeb in 1657. He was eventually assassinated by Aurangzeb in 1659 at the age of 44. His works, such as Majma-ul-Bahrain and Sirr-i-Akbar, aimed to establish connections between Hinduism and Islam.
He had translated the Upanishads and other Hindu texts from Sanskrit to Persian, introducing Indian culture and spirituality to Europe and the West. Unlike his brother Aurangzeb, Dara Shikoh was inclined towards philosophy and mysticism, rather than military pursuits.
Mr Hosabole’s statement came just two days after RSS publicity-in-charge Sunil Ambekar said Aurangzeb was totally irrelevant in today’s context. Mr Hosabole said there had been a lot of incidents in the past in which the issue of Aurangzeb’s relevance had been brought up.
“There was an ‘Aurangzeb Road’ in Delhi, which was renamed Abdul Kalam Road. There was some reason behind it. We never named Dara Shikoh a hero. He was Aurangzeb’s brother. Those who advocate the Ganga-Jamuni culture never thought of bringing Dara Shikoh forward. Are we going to iconise someone who was against the ethos of India, or are we going to go with those who worked according to the traditions of this land?” he said.
The RSS leader also refused to distinguish between fighting against the British and fighting against those who came before them.
“If the freedom fighting is done against Britishers, then fighting against the Muslim invaders is also a freedom fight. The fight against those who were before them (Britishers) was also a freedom movement. What Maharana Pratap did was fight for freedom. If there are people with an invader mentality, then they are a danger to the country… We have to decide whom we are going to associate with the ethos of our country… It is not about religion… This is RSS’s firm view…,” Mr Hosabole added.
“If the fight against the Britishers was one for the freedom of the country, then even the fight against those who were ruling the country before Britishers was also a freedom movement. Those who are symbols of the culture of the society and the nation should be our ideal, not those who are known for intolerance and do not represent the character of the nation. Opposition to people like Aurangzeb is not religious but in the interest of the nation and its unity. Although we gained political independence in 1947, mental colonialism is still a reality and it is necessary to end this mental colonialism,” he said.
When asked about Sangh’s stand on the decision of Karnataka government to provide a 4% reservation to Muslims in government contracts, Mr Hosabale said such reservations go against the Constitution. Amidst protest by the Opposition, the Karnataka government on March 21 passed the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, 2025, that provides for 4% reservation to contractors from Muslim community in public contracts. “The courts have many times rejected such actions of the government calling them unconstitutional. Anyone taking such political steps is going against the purpose of the Constitution makers,” he said.
Responding to a question on inter-caste marriages, the RSS general secretary said that the Sangh also had witnessed such marriages and that it had no problem with such marriages. “Inter-caste marriages happen in the Sangh but we don’t keep a record… because how to remove caste… The Sangh follows a different approach… We emphasise that we are all Hindus. Those born in this country are Hindus because their forefathers were Hindus. Those who attended Sangh shakhas have already come over it,” he said.
