Doors of Hinduism are open even to those who have eaten beef: Dattatreya Hosabale

According to Hosabale, those who have converted to other religions can also be converted back to Hinduism.

Jaipur, Feb 02: In a subtle message to those who left Hinduism and embraced other religions, General Secretary of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Dattatreya Hosabale has said that the doors of Hinduism are open even to the people who have eaten beef.

Speaking at an event in Jaipur, Hosabale said, "The term 'Hindu' has already entered our Constitution and country. It is a fact of history. Hindu is an identity and a culture to which people belong." "While MS Golwalkar didn't get into the exact definition of Hindu, Veer Savarkar has said in his writings that those who consider the land till the Sindhu river as their land are Hindus," ANI quoted him as saying.

He then stated that doors are open to those who have converted to other religions. "Golwalkar ji even said that those who have converted to other religions can also be converted back to Hinduism. It might happen that they would have eaten beef under some kind of pressure, but still, we can't close our doors on them. They can still be brought back into Hinduism," he added.

He said that people needs to open their minds and hearts to understand what 'Sangh' is. "Once it was asked from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, what is Sangh? He said that only the founders of Sangh know what Sangh is, while we all are just trying to find out the answer. One needs heart, and not brain to understand Sangh," he added.

Hosabale claimed that Sangh considers the whole Hindu society as its family. "All members of the 'Hindu society' are part of the Sangh family. So, it is our duty to bring changes in our people and develop feelings of religion, culture and nationalism in them. Only then can we develop as a society. Sangh aims to make society united and powerful. For this we have to work for national unity, empowering cow protection and fighting against religious conversions," he further said.

However, his views do not come as a surprise as RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat has been telling people living in India are Hindus. "People should understand that because they live in Hindusthan, they all are Hindus. They might by other things as well, but all other identities have been made possible because of Hindu ethos of acceptance... Hindutva is the name for the centuries old culture to which all the diverse streams owe their origin," PTI quoted him as saying.

"Different branches may have stemmed and may seem opposed to each other, but they all trace their beginning to the same source," Bhagwat said.