Nagpur (PTI): Hinduism respects all sects and India has never seen strifes on issues like the one that has led to the ongoing Hamas-Israel war, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has said.

He was speaking at a programme organised at a school here on Saturday to mark 350 years of the coronation of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

"In this country, there is a religion, culture that respects all sects and faiths. That religion in Hinduism. 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.

"Everywhere else, strifes are underway. You must have heard of the war in Ukraine, Hamas-Israel war. In our country, there were never wars on such issues. The invasion during Shivaji Maharaj's time was of that kind. But we never fought of battles on this issue with anybody. That is why we are Hindus," the RSS chief told the audience.

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Dubai (PTI): India spinner Varun Chakravarthy on Wednesday consolidated his position at the top of the ICC Men's T20I Bowler Rankings, reaching a career-best rating following a stellar show in the ongoing T20 series against South Africa.

The 34-year-old Chakravarthy earned a new best rating of 818 points on the back of his third consecutive two-wicket haul in five-game home series.

The right-armer has six wickets across the first three matches of the series, with his spell of 2/11 from four economical overs in the most recent contest in Dharamsala proving pivotal in India's clinical seven-wicket triumph.

Chakravarthy (818 rating points) now holds a 119-point advantage over his closest rival in New Zealand seamer Jacob Duffy (699) in second-place, while also moveing inside the top 10 for the best rating of all-time for T20I bowlers.

Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh also improved four places to 16th overall on the rankings for T20I bowlers on the back of his Player of the Match heroics against the Proteas in the third game.

For South Africa, Marco Jansen (up 14 spots to 25th), Lungi Ngidi (up 11 rungs to 44th) and Ottneil Baartman also improved, reaching 68th from outside the top 100.

Among T20I batters, India now boast two players inside the top five on the rankings, with Tilak Varma gaining two spots to move to fourth overall after a trio of decent innings against South Africa.

Teammate Abhishek Sharma maintains a decent buffer at the top, while South Africa duo Aiden Markram (up eight places to 29th) and Quinton de Kock (up 14 spots to 43rd) made good ground following some decent recent efforts.

Pakistan's Saim Ayub has a narrow lead at the top of the rankings for T20I all-rounders despite not playing any international matches across the last week, with India's Shivam Dube the big mover on this list as he improves two places to 16th.