There should be no lynching, be it of cows or men: RSS functionary

Senior RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) functionary Indresh Kumar on Sunday asserted that there should be "no man lynching and no cow lynching", in order to ensure that people from different faiths lived together in peace.

Speaking to reporters in Patna, the national executive member also said the RSS stood by the views expressed by its chief Mohan Bhagwat in favour of a caste census.

"What honourable Mohan ji has said is a view held by cent per cent RSS volunteers. Caste is a reality which we cannot wish away. But we must take care to keep at bay the venom of casteism (jaativad ka dansh)", Indresh said.

"Likewise, we are also of the view that there are, and there will be, many religions. But we must be on guard against religious fanaticism and the violence that it leads to. People should follow their own path while having respect for all," he added.

Asked about frequent incidents of lynching by cow vigilantes, which Opposition parties have blamed on the ascendance of the BJP, an offshoot of the RSS, he said, "In many parts of the country and the world, people eat meat. But we must recognise that people are sensitive about cows. So we should strive to create an environment in which there is no cow lynching and no man lynching. We should celebrate unity in diversity".

What he meant by 'cow lynching' is not clear, but the implication seems to be that cows not be killed. In which case, the question of eating beef becomes redundant. And since the suspicion of 'cow lynching' is what leads to 'man lynching', one wonders what 'cent per cent RSS volunteers' have to say about it.

Very recently, a seven-year-old Muslim student was suspended from a convent school in Uttar Pradesh allegedly for bringing non-vegetarian food to school. In a viral video, the school principal is purportedly seen in a heated exchange with the student's mother, unleashing a diatribe against the boy's religious background in particular, and non-vegetarian food in general. Again presumably, the principal is unaware of the fact that nearly 80 per cent of India 'eats meat', as is the pious Indresh.

One also wonders what the RSS has to say about the 23 August shooting of class 12 student Aryan Mishra in Faridabad, Haryana, by cow vigilantes who mistook him and his friends for cattle smugglers. That a group of civilians can go around wielding firearms and killing anyone at all on the basis of mere suspicion, is a thought so horrifying that words fall short. As Aryan's inconsolable father asked his son's assailants: "Why would you kill a Muslim? Only because of a cow?"

With agency inputs