Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Satya Pal Singh Baghel on Monday said that a few hundred Muslims are “tolerant” and even among those appear to remain that way to become Governor and Vice President or Vice-Chancellor.
“Tolerant Muslims can be counted on fingers. Their numbers are not even in thousands. Even that is a tactic. It is to stay in public life with a mask. This route then leads to the house of the Governor and Vice President or Vice Chancellor. But when they retire from there, they begin to speak their mind,” the minister said during an event organised by the RSS, as quoted by The Indian Express.
He said that the basic structure of India is that of Akhand Bharat Hindu Rashtra before 1192.
“I have never agreed with (Ram Manohar) Lohia ji’s views that Ghouri and Ghaznavi were looters while Akbar, Dara Shukoh and Razia Sultan are our ancestors. The Delhi sultanate was run based on Shariat. It was a hardline regime,” said Baghel, in his address as chief guest at the annual Narad Patrakar Samman Samaroh organised at Maharashtra Sadan.
He had made the comments in the context of a speech delivered by Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar, who spoke before and said that while India must fight Islamic fundamentalism, it must embrace figures like Akbar, who were tolerant.
Baghel argued that Akbar’s “tolerance” was a “strategy” as he had understood that India is a “nation of majority Hindus”.
He knew that he could not rule Akhand Bharat by hurting religious sentiments. But this was a strategy. It did not come from the heart. If Akbar was really secular, the massacre of Chittorgarh would not have happened. Din-e-Ilahi and Sulah-e-Kul were also part of a strategy as was inclusion of Hindus among the Navratnas. His marriage [to Jodhabai] was also a political marriage. When he died, his last words were ‘Ya Allah!’,” Baghel said.
He also argued that communalism and the disproportionate increase in population were bigger dangers than corruption.
Meanwhile, RSS joint publicity in-charge Narendra Thakur, cautioned against fake news at the event and claimed that the RSS is the biggest victim of fake news.