Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Saturday that Hinduism respects all sects and India has never seen strifes on issues like the one that has led to the ongoing Hamas-Israel war. Speaking at a programme organised at a school in Maharashtra's Nagpur to mark 350 years of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
"In this country, there is a religion, and culture that respects all sects and faiths. That religion is Hinduism. Everywhere else, there is a war going on. You must have heard of the war in Ukraine, the Hamas-Israel war. In our country, there have never been wars on such issues, we have never had such a fight, we do not fight with anyone on such issues..."
"This is a country of Hindus. That does not mean we reject all other (religions). Once you say Hindu, it is not needed to be told that Muslims too were protected. Only Hindus do this. Only India does this. Others have not done this," Bhagwat said, as quoted by the news agency PTI.
Bhagwat cited examples of war between Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas and said, "The invasion during Shivaji Maharaj's times was of that kind. But we never fought battles on this issue with anybody. That is why we are Hindus," as quoted by PTI.
Hamas launched a horrific terror attack on Israel on October 7 which resulted in over 1400 deaths and over 3000 injuries. In response, Israel launched a strong counter-offensive attacking several Hamas terror units in the Gaza Strip. At least 4,385 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza.