China quot;invadedquot; by the RSS

CALCUTTA, April 12: If one goes by the piece of information which appeared in Rashtriya Sawangsevek Sangh8217;s RSS Bengali mouthpiece Swastika, the RSS has found its way in China too. The Sangh has been carrying on its programmes in Hong Kong quot;without any oddsquot;. Sources in the RSS8217;s Eastern Zones 8211; the branch in Hong Kong 8211; assumes significance considering the question of religious rights of over 87,000 Hindus after the Chinese government took over Hong Kong from British on the midnight of June 30, 1997.

The news said the RSS, which would ensure the protection of the religious rights of Hindus, quot;will help in spreading Hindu awareness and the ideals of Hindu life among the community people who are continuously exposed to the onslaughts of Western culture.quot; Interestingly, the Hong Kong branch has already organised its camp a few months back in Hangsho village. During the camp, which was attended by over 50 RSS members and leaders, beside hoisting of ocher flag, the activists took pledge in Hindi tospread Hindu consciousness among the community people based in Hong Kong.

quot;The Hindus living in far off places must be told about their cultural roots. So that they can fight the onslaught of cultural aggression of the West,quot; said one of Eastern Zone leaders.

Kalipada Basu, Eastern Zone chief of RSS, disclosed that so far the organisation8217;s branches in Japan, Myanmar and a few other places in Southeast Asian countries quot;are carrying on with their usual mission.quot;

quot;We had established our branch in Hong Kong a few years back but it was different then. What is more important is that we are still carrying on with our activities even after the Chinese takeover.quot;

quot;However,quot; Basu told the ENS, quot;So far, we haven8217;t faced any problems from the Chinese Government or the administration and we hope that we would be allowed to carry on with our mission.quot;