Kalam to open Kolkata Jesuits’ meet, RSS says it’s unfortunate

Stoking controversy, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief K S Sudarshan today described the proposed inauguration of a Jesuits’ conference...

Stoking controversy, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief K S Sudarshan today described the proposed inauguration of a Jesuits’ conference by President Abdul Kalam as ‘‘very unfortunate’’. The conference is scheduled to begin on January 21 in Kolkata.

Speaking at a function to release Hindu, Musalman Ani Khristi, a compilation of newspaper articles written by RSS spokesman M G Vaidya, Sudarshan described Jesuits as Pope’s soldiers who are given deeksha by the Pope himself on an oath that prescribes violent and barbaric means to decimate all those who don’t follow the Roman Catholic religion.

‘‘Our President going to inaugurate the conference is very unfortunate,’’ he remarked.

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Attacking what he said was the ‘‘exclusivity’’ and ‘‘intolerence’’ practiced by the followers of Christianity and Islam vis-a-vis other religions, Sudarshan said this had not only made them reject other religions but also created vertical divisions within the two communities.

Giving examples of Shia-Sunni, Bareilwi vs Deobandi Sunnis and Catholic-Protestant strife, Sudarshan asked if they can’t stand their own sects, what would be their attitude towards other religions.

‘‘Over 5,000 of the 6,000-odd verses in Quran dwell on Kafirs. Paigambar wanted to unite all Arabs under one banner and hence preached the ‘one God’ axiom. There is a need to reinterpret the Quranic verses in modern context,’’ he suggested. He asserted that Hindus believed Muslims and Christians could live with them. ‘‘The whole confusion about Hindutva has been engendered by those who explain Hindu concepts through western terminology,’’ Sudarshan said, adding, ‘‘the confusion has proved to be a curse for our political life.’’

‘‘We (RSS) are treated on par with Islamic fundamentalists. But we say when Hindus go back to their fundamentals, they become more universal, while Christians and Muslims become more exclusivists when they turn towards theirs,’’ he said.