Gyanvapi Mosque row: RSS’ Mohan Bhagwat bats for a middle path, apparently going against current saffron wisdom
In a comment apparently going against the current views of the saffron ecosystem, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, in a public speech yesterday, spoke about not trying to find a temple in every mosque.
“Why look for a shivling (the phallic representation of Lord Shiva) in every mosque?”, he said.
Bhagwat said in the speech there could be some standing issues regarding temples and mosques, but it is not right to “file a case every other day”, adding, “Why should we quarrel?”
“We do respect the issue of Gyanvapi, … but then why look for a shivling in every mosque?”, came his next comment.
He went on to describe the Muslims’ form of worship as a “puja” (a word we usually associate with Hindus)—“What they do in a mosque is also their form of puja”—and added that “it may have come from outside [India], but why should that matter?”
He added for good measure that the Muslims of India are citizens of India too, a fact which “the others” [a very pointed expression] must understand.
