Sam Pitroda backs Mamdani’s RSS concerns, calls for inclusive India

Senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda has said New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani’s criticism of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh contains “some truth”, while maintaining that the organisation was entitled to hold a private gathering in the city.

Pitroda was responding to questions about RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s event in New York and Mamdani’s comments about the organisation.

“I know mayor of New York has spoken about his views, but it's a private event. And everybody is entitled, everybody's entitled to have their private event. No issue,” Pitroda told IANS in an interview.

Asked whether he shared Mamdani’s assessment of the RSS, Pitroda described the mayor’s remarks as his personal views before setting out his own belief in a secular and inclusive India.

“I do agree with the fact that I believe in secular India. I believe in India where there is no difference in religion, caste, language, state,” he said.

Pitroda said he believed in an India founded on equal rights, truth, trust, love and equity. He recalled growing up in a village where families belonging to different religions and social backgrounds lived together peacefully.

Born in 1942 during British rule, Pitroda said a Muslim family lived opposite his home, while Jain and Sikh households were on either side and a tribal Odia family lived behind it.

“We all lived in peace, harmony, no conflict at all,” he said.

Contrasting his childhood experiences with present-day India, Pitroda claimed that conflict, hatred and fear had increased considerably. Against this background, he said Mamdani’s criticism contained an element of truth.

“So I think what Mamdani said has some truth in it that India we grew up with was the India for everybody,” he said.

Pitroda alleged that Muslims and Christians had experienced growing anxiety in recent years. He also questioned the effect of RSS influence on educational bodies and other public institutions.

“You ask average Muslim or Christian how they feel in the last 15 years, what has happened to their churches, their communities, and they will tell you,” he said.

The Congress leader also alleged a difference between the RSS’s public statements and its conduct, saying he would judge the organisation by its actions rather than its words.

“Their words mean one thing and their actions mean something else,” Pitroda said. “To me, actions speak louder.”

Pitroda said he had never met Bhagwat but personally knew several RSS members. He added that he remained friends with people whose political and ideological positions differed from his own.

“I respect them. I respect diversity. But when it becomes violent, I have a problem. When it becomes hateful, I have a problem,” he said, adding that disagreement was acceptable as long as respect and dignity were maintained.

Pitroda called on the RSS and other organisations in India to return to what he described as the country’s founding principles.

“What was the core idea of India? That India belongs to everybody. India belongs to Hindu, Muslim, Christians, Jews, Dalits,” he said.

Founded in Nagpur in 1925, the RSS completed its centenary in 2025. The organisation describes itself as a cultural and social body dedicated to national service and character-building.

With IANS inputs