'Hindu Rashtra' is not an objective but an adjective of Indian nation: RSS

Supporting Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's assertion that there is nothing wrong in the concept of a Hindu rashtra, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Thursday asserted that the concept of Hindu nation is not an objective but an adjective of this nation, adding it is, therefore, non theocratic.

RSS leader Rakesh Sinha said the history of India doesn't begin with a particular religion or particular mode of worship.

"There can be a new mode of worship and that mode of worship cannot disconnect disown, deride, the pre-religious status of a culture, history, intellectual legacy of a nation. The Hindu Rashtra is a secular, democratic and an inclusive concept," he told ANI.

Elaborating his point, Sinha said the concept of Hindu nation addresses a larger objective, adding it says to erode the forgetfulness of the Indian people, about their culture and civilization, which is far different from the mode of worship.

Adityanath had earlier on Wednesday said, "If that rashtra (nation), or raasta (path), helps improve people's way of life, then we should not hesitate in adopting it."

The Chief Minister, who made this statement during his first televised interview as the Chief Minister to Doordarshan on Wednesday, cited the Supreme Court observation to defend his statement.

He pointed out that the apex court had also acknowledged Hindutva was a way of life.

In a landmark judgment in 1995, the court had defined "Hindutva" or Hindu as "a way of life and not a religion in India", thus approving the use of the words in election campaigns.