President’s Hindutva "relation"

“K R Bhaskaran is wedded to Hindu culture and dharma right from his younger days. But since hewas employed in London for quite a long time, he could not remain in touch with us. For the past one year, he is taking keen interest in our activities. He was the chief guest at the last Vijayadasami day celebrations organised by us at Uzhavoor, his home village”, said Nanda Kumar, state saha baudhik pramukh of the RSS, one of the organisers of the camp.

In an interview with The Indian Express, which took place at his ancestral house at Uzhavoor yesterday with his elder sister, K R Gowri, as a patient listener, 73-year-old Bhaskaran said he is deeply impressed by the discipline, dedication and patrotism of the RSS cadres.

Asked whether he approved of the demolition of Babri Masjid, he said the issue has been politicised by interested parties. “The Muslims in Uttar Pradesh are least concerned about the demolition of the disputed structure. There are instances galore of demolition of places of worship in world history. Even in India, several Hindu temples have been razed to the ground in themarch of history. But this doesn’t offer any justification for acts like demolition of Babri Masjid. We cannot take revenge on history,” he cautioned.

But as regards the ideology of the RSS who are adamant on building a temple at the Masjid site, he says, “I don’t think that RSS is a fundamentalist or terrorist outfit as propagated by its opponents. I see Christians joining the RSS in Kerala and Muslims in UP. After all, Hinduism is the most tolerant religion in the world and for the same reason Hindu culture has survived the onslaughts of foreign invasions. As the inscription on the Asoka Pillar states, a religion which respects other religions alone will have the staying power”.

About the state of the nation, Bhaskaran felt happy that a two-party system with the Congress and the BJP occupying the opposite poles is evolving in India. This is good for the future of Indian democracy, he felt. The political turmoil witnessed now-a-days in and out of Parliament, according to him, is nothing but thebirthpangs of a bi-polar polity. The communists and the third front it supposedly leads will either have to align with either of the two groupings or face political wilderness.

About the performance of the Vajpayee Government, he felt that it is doing a reasonably good job within the limitations imposed by a disparate coalition. “If coalition has worked successfully in western countries like France, there is no reason why it should fail in India with a long democratic tradition,” Bhaskaran says.

“Vajpayee is the finest politician India has produced after Jawaharlal Nehru. The success of every Government depends on the leadership provided by a few individuals. We are fortunate to have two men of outstanding integrity and eminence — Vajpayee and Advani — to guide the destiny of the nation at this critical juncture. “The Government should be allowed to complete its term. Any attempt to bring down this Government would be self-destructive”, Bhaskaran warned, asserting in the same breath that he has nointention of joining the BJP.

About Sonia Gandhi’s entry into the political arena, he said as a legal citizen of this country, she has every constitutional right to take part in political activities and even become the Prime Minister of the country if she secures the people’s mandate. “The political challenge posed by her has to be met politically, not personally by exploiting her religion and nationality”.

Finally a word about his illustrious brother — it is a matter of great pride for him that K R Narayanan has lived up to the expectations of the people by discharging his constitutional responsibilities as the head of the nation creditably. “The fact that almost all political parties joined hands to elect him to the highest office of the land is a sure sign that democracy is here to stay,” he said.