CHICAGO: Ram Madhav, one of the leading members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and spokesperson on its international relations, was all for a continual dialogue between Sangh and members of other religious communities, principally Muslim and Christians.

He said that forging a common link between moderate Islamic and Christian groups who make serious efforts to understand each other’s position, is a step in right direction as it helps to work out solutions to combat anti-social terror-driven groups who are bent on wrecking the social and economic development of the country.

He was recently in Chicago on his way to Mexico to attend a panel discussion on Hindu Nationalism. He is the keynote speaker in the Mexican Conference.In a talk to ethnic Indian media, he pointed out well over 70/80 such meetings had been held and they helped both groups come face to face, discuss and interact cordially. He said most of these dialogues took place with leaders like Sudarshanji, President of Sangh.

He explained that in view of the highly visible activities of the Sangh on wider spectrum of developmental projects in India a number of organizations abroad are increasingly interested to understand its position on important national and international issues.

“Our views carry considerable influence in Indian society and therefore many academic and social bodies, especially the scholars and intellectual groups are curious to know more about us,” he observed. As a result he said that we have more opportunities to visit various international bodies in US and Europe.

He referred to his frequent meetings with the State Dept of the US government, besides august educational institutions like Yale and Harvard. He also mentioned the increasing interactions with influential think-tanks in various countries, like Jewish groups in the US.

Replying a question about the action the Sangh has been pursuing to remove the misconception about it, Ram Madhav said that as a result of improved education and more interest and research about Hindu way of living and philosophy across the world, especially because of the interaction of the Hindu society growing across the world, the wrong ideas are giving way to the true information about Hinduism and the Sangh activities. India’s pluralistic society and its peaceful living in harmony had proved this, notwithstanding sporadic incidents of violence and intolerance exhibited by both minority and majority communities, he argued.

He drove home the point that India, like the US, is a melting point of pluralistic cultures, which essentially stems from the intrinsic Hindu tradition of inclusiveness embedded in her social and spiritual values for millennia. Hindu communities living in Western hemisphere have amply demonstrated their breadth of vision and historically proven conduct of tolerance.Shedding light on the Indo US Nuclear Pact, he felt that Sangh is not opposed to the Pact.

They were just objecting to spirit and contents of the Pact which demand the surrender of India’s sovereignty to determine her goals. Referring to the international “pilgrimage” of the Pope he said that Russia had categorically denied hosting the Holy Father, but it was not the case with India and majority of the Hindus led by the Sangh.

What Sangh and most the Hindu community disdained had been the issue of conversion and destruction of our culture and spiritual tradition, which is as holy and of course soaked much deeper in the psyche of her people, he argued.

The Sangh would join the Christian community in hosting the Pope, sans any encouragement to proselytisation, he admitted.“Nepal,” he continued is a matter of dissatisfaction. But political realities always supersede the social and religious sentiments. It is still a Hindu majority country and ethos of its spiritual tradition would continue to dominate the socio-cultural landscape of Nepal, he believed.

Continuing with the important issue for the Hindu society in India, he stated that several spiritual institutions are engaged in the process of reforming Hindu Society in an effort to eliminate caste from the mainstream. RSS is the largest Hindu organization with nearly 10 million active members in India. It is also the second largest service institution, after the Missionaries, and claims more than 100,000 social service projects.

It has also initiated dialogue with people of ancient traditions in over 35 countries. Its goal is to unite Hindus by eliminating castes, sects, languages, etc.Commenting on the ubiquity of the caste system in India, he referred to a recent news report that the Dalits among the Christians had begun their fight for their rights, opposing the hierarchy of the high-caste Christians!