Amritsar Sahib (KP) – Again, the fanatical right-wing Hindu organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has come under fire for statements derogatory to the Sikh religion. Although such RSS tactics and statements are not new, they have come at a time when the Sikh Nation faces several concerns. Sikh organizations based worldwide have taken strong notice of the RSS' statements.
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"Prime minister Manmohan Singh, a confirmed religious Sikh, should have known better, for the holy Guru Granth Sahib, holy gurbani of revered Guru Gobind Singh are known for their salutations to Sri Ram," - RSS mouthpiece : Observer |
By and large, the insults by the RSS are linked to its efforts to preserve the 'purity' of the Hindu religion. Although the Sikh Nation has never interfered in the personal matters of the Hindu religion by not raising any objection to the irrational activities of the RSS and its focal organizations, including the Bhartiya Janta Party, the ever more insulting statements against Sikh beliefs leave everyone surprised. This time, a Centre Government scheme named the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project has been used by the RSS activists to offend the Sikh masses.
RSS and BJP activists openly affront the Sikh religion once again
It was alleged by the RSS and BJP leadership that Manmohan Singh ought to know better about Ram as the Sikh Holy Scripture, Guru Granth Sahib Ji, contains several references addressing Ramchandar as God. Although this affidavit was withdrawn following several violent incidents, the heat of Sikh organizations turned towards the BJP and RSS for insulting the Sikh religion once again.
Controversy behind the Sethusamudram project
The Sethusamudram project has been the reason behind much of the recent controversy. The project aims to create a more practical and economical sea route between the tip of Southern India and Sri Lanka . RSS and BJP’s leadership has been opposed to this project as the use of the new route would cause damage to the ‘ancient’ bridge that was built by Hanumaan’s ‘monkey-army’. Because of RSS activists aggressively lobbying over the matter, work on the project had to be ceased.
An affidavit, termed controversial by RSS leadership, was submitted to the Supreme Court by the Central Government of India seeking permission to commence the multi-million dollar project once again. The heat caused by the affidavit was due to the fact that the epic of Ramayan, life story of Ramchandar, was described as a mythological tale and the creation of the bridge type structure was explained as a naturally-occurring chain of sandbanks.
Although this explanation scientifically sound and agreed upon by organizations such as NASA and The Centre for Remote Sensing (CRS) of Bharathidasan University, the leadership of the BJP and RSS have not accepted it and they demanded withdrawal of the affidavit. Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were declared as the conspirators behind the affidavit and since, they have been receiving the wrath of the BJP leadership.
Although Sonia Gandhi was spared somewhat because of her ‘ignorance’ about Indian history and her Catholic background, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not spared by the BJP leadership. Although the BJP activists were campaigning against the ‘insult’ to Ramchandar, they committed the same mistake when they put the blame on Manmohan Singh accusing him of not knowing of the status of Ram in Indian history.
Unlike previous similar incidents, the Sikh Nation is not looking for an apology statement but rather an amendment to the Indian Constitution Article 25 which describes the Sikh Religion as a sect of Hinduism. Sikh leadership has termed the statements by the RSS against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a conspiracy in-accord to the Indian Constitution.
Sikh leadership has finally started a fresh campaign to get Article #25 amended as the Sikh religion was established as an Independent religion. In addition, while the Sikh leadership is at it, an amendment to the Anand Marriage Act has been brought up again.
