Hindutva neither Left nor Right, integral humanism its essence: RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale

PTI, Oct 23, 2021, 8:16 AM IST

Image credit: HT file photo

New Delhi: RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Friday said that Hindutva is neither Left nor Right and its essence is ”integral humanism”.

Speaking at the launch of RSS leader Ram Madhav’s book, ”The Hindutva Paradigm: Integral Humanism and Quest for a Non-Western Worldview”, Hosabale said that cultural cohesion and cultural nationalism are essential for the longevity of a nation.

Any forcible division or unification of nations, he said, does not sustain.

”The world had gone to Left, or was forced to go Left and now the situation is such that the world is moving towards the Right so that it’s at the center. That is what Hindutva is all about — neither Left nor Right,” Hosabale said.

”I am from the RSS. We have never said in our discourse in the Sangh training camps that we are rightist. Many of our ideas are like leftist ideas,” he said.

The RSS leader said there is space for ideas of both sides, the Left and the Right since these are ”human experiences”.

”Geographical or political divides are the East and the West that have blurred, dimmed and melted in the post-liberalization, privatization and globalization era,” he said.

Talking about the colonial reminiscence and its influence on various systems in the Indian governance setup, Hosabale said it is irrelevant but continues to persist in the present-day Indian system. He cited the recent comment by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana about the ”Indianisation of our legal system”.

”We will not achieve full freedom till we Indianise our systems,” the RSS leader said.

Hosabale also cited Mahatma Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj and mentioned socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia in his speech about Hindutva.

The CJI had last month said, ”Very often our justice delivery poses multiple barriers for the common people. The working and the style of courts do not sit well with the complexities of India. Our systems practice rules being colonial in origin may not be best suited to the needs of Indian population. The need of the hour is the Indianisation of our legal system.” Talking about his book, Ram Madhav said the book does not present an anti-West world view and that the time has come to explore a world view from India’s point of reference.

Suggesting that one should be open to newer views and ideas, he said, ”We should continue to accept and implement the ideas we got from outside, but there are some ideas that this land can also contribute and we must turn to them.”