Hindus don't oppose anyone, don't aspire to dominate: RSS chief
Chicago, Sep 8: Asserting that Hindus neither oppose anybody nor aspire to dominate, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday said the community needs to unite to end its centuries of sufferings.
Speaking at the 2nd World Hindu Congress here, Bhagwat said the key to unite the world is to control ego and accepting the consensus.
"We do not have any aspects of dominance. Hindus do not live to oppose anybody. We even allow the pests to live. There are people who may oppose us. You have to tackle them without harming them," said Bhagwat addressing delegates from across the globe.
"Why are we suffering for 1000 years? We had everything but we forgot to practise values. We also forgot to work together. Hindu society has largest number of meritorious people in many sectors. But they never come together, stay together.
"Coming together of Hindus itself was a difficult task. Earlier, when our Swayamsevaks would try to organise people, they would say 'a lion never walks in a group', but even that lion or a Royal Bengal tiger who is the king of the jungle... if he is alone, wild dogs together can invade and destroy him...," he said calling upon Hindus to unite.
The 2nd World Hindu Congress is being held on the occasion of 125th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at the Parliament of World Religions in 1893.
Talking about uniting the world, Bhagwat cited the example of Lord Krishna and Yudhisthira from the Mahabharata, who he said never contradicted each other.
"One of the key values to bring the whole world into a team is to have controlled ego and learn to accept the consensus.
"It is time the Hindu society showcased its oneness to the world and went back to its ancient wisdom and values," Bhagwat said.
He said that the negative influence of ego should always be avoided.
"Of all the main characters, Krishna never contradicted Yudhishthir and Yudhishthir never disobeyed Krishna because it is important to work unitedly, keeping your ego aside," he added.
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36 ex-judges slam Opposition move to impeach Justice Swaminathan
New Delhi (PTI): Thirty-six former judges on Saturday gave a call to people, including parliamentarians, to denounce opposition leaders' move to impeach Madras High Court judge Justice G R Swaminathan, saying such an attempt, if allowed to proceed, would cut at the very roots of democracy and independence of the judiciary.
On December 1, Justice Swaminathan held that the Arulmighu Subramania Swamy Temple was duty-bound to light the lamp at the Deepathoon, in addition to the customary lighting near the Uchi Pillaiyar Mandapam.
The single-judge bench said that doing so would not encroach upon the rights of the adjacent dargah or the Muslim community.
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The order sparked a row, and on December 9, several opposition MPs, led by the DMK, submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to move a motion for the removal of the judge.
Taking serious exception to the move, the former judges in a joint statement said this is a "brazen attempt to browbeat judges who do not fall in line with the ideological and political expectations of a particular section of society".
"If such an attempt is permitted to proceed, it would cut at the very roots of our democracy and the independence of the judiciary," they said.
"We therefore call upon all stakeholders -- Members of Parliament across party lines, members of the Bar, civil society, and citizens at large -- to unequivocally denounce this move and ensure that it is nipped in the bud at the very inception," they added.
The statement emphasised that the judges must remain answerable to their oath and to the Constitution of India, not to "partisan political pressures or ideological intimidation".
"The message from all constitutional stakeholders must be clear and firm: in a republic governed by the rule of law, judgments are tested by appeals and legal critique, and not by threats of impeachment for political nonconformity," it said.
The statement was signed by former Supreme Court judge Krishn Murari J as well as ex-chief justices and former judges of different high courts.
The statement said the opposition party's move is not an "isolated aberration". It fits into a "clear and deeply troubling pattern" in India's recent constitutional history, where sections of the political class have sought to discredit and intimidate the higher judiciary whenever outcomes do not align with their interests, it added.
"The unprecedented bid in 2018 to initiate impeachment proceedings against then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, the sustained campaigns of vilification directed at Chief Justices Ranjan Gogoi, S A Bobde and D Y Chandrachud while they were in office," the statement noted.
"The targeted attacks now being mounted against the incumbent CJI, Justice Surya Kant, whenever a judgment/remark displeases a political constituency, are all manifestations of the same trend," it said.
"This is not principled, reasoned criticism of judicial decisions; it is an attempt to weaponise impeachment and public calumny as instruments of pressure -- a practice that strikes at the heart of judicial independence and the basic norms of constitutional democracy," the statement added.
