Stating that the Hindu community had responded in a peaceful and constitutional way to the murder of a tailor in Udaipur, over his purported support of remarks on the Prophet by a now-suspended BJP spokesperson, RSS's publicity in-charge, Sunil Ambekar, on Saturday said it is now “expected from the Muslim community that they condemn” the incident “vigorously”. Addressing the media at the end of a three-day meeting of RSS 'prant pracharaks' (regions in-charge) in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, Ambekar said, “Some Muslim intellectuals have done that (condemn the murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal). But the Muslim community in general must come forward and oppose such things vigorously. Such incidents are neither in the interest of the society nor the country.” In the meeting, the first physical one since the onset of Covid-19, the Sangh discussed the issue of rising Islamic radicalisation in the backdrop of the murders in Udaipur and Amravati. A chemist named Umesh Kolhe was killed in Amravati district on June 21, allegedly for circulating a social media post supporting suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma on WhatsApp. The RSS meeting, where top leaders of the organisation, including Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale were present, discussed ways to counter such belief systems and the Sangh’s role in it. “All contemporary issues are discussed in such meetings. So naturally, Udaipur and Amravati incidents were discussed,” a senior RSS functionary who attended the meet said. “There is anger among workers.however, this anger has to be channelised and expressed responsibly. That is where the Sangh has a role to play.” On Kanhaiya Lal's killing, Ambekar said, “The brutal murder in Udaipur is condemnable. No amount of criticism of the incident would be enough. We have a democracy. If one does not like what someone says, there is a democratic way of responding to it. Civilised society will always criticise such incidents.” Replying to a question on the controversy surrounding a film depicting Goddess Kaali smoking a cigarette, Ambekar said, “While exercising freedom of expression, one must take care of public sentiments as well.” According to the RSS, the meeting took stock of work done by pracharaks during the pandemic and charted out the future course. Close to 23,000 people have participated in the RSS's training programme — 'Sangh Shiksha Varg' — In the last couple of years, Ambekar said. Of them, 18,981 were under the age of 40 years. The RSS has 101 such training centres across the country. As the pandemic subsides, Ambekar said, RSS's focus is to restart its regular work with full vigour. At present, the Sangh has 56,824 shakhas. He said RSS's work on water management, waste management, environment protection and cleanliness is progressing well with public participation, and the programme of 'kutumb prabodhan' (preserving family values) is going ahead with a new thrust. The meeting discussed the need to recall the unsung and unknown heroes of the freedom struggle at a time the country is celebrating 75th year of independence. Ambekar said that based on discussions during the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha baithak a few months ago, where the idea of self-employment was emphasised, more than 4,000 youths have been trained for self-employment by 22 organisations. The Sangh will also organise programmes on this from July 15 to August 21. As the RSS completes 100 years of its existence in 2025, the organisation plans to increase its shakha numbers to 1 lakh.
