Krishna consciousness in US, polarisation in India: Shiv Sena(UBT) in ‘Saamana’

Mumbai: Mounting a sharp offensive against Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Monday said that if the RSS leadership expects its global message of “one humanity” to carry credibility abroad, the tolerant principles articulated on international soil must be actively practised and enforced within India’s domestic socio-political landscape. ​

In an editorial published in the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Thackeray camp scrutinised Bhagwat’s recent address in New York, where the RSS Sarsanghchalak invoked ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and declared that “if a Hindu feels that there should be no Muslims in India, then he is not a Hindu at all.” ​

The editorial characterised Bhagwat’s measured vocabulary in the United States as a carefully calibrated effort to align with Western democratic norms and global human rights frameworks, arguing that these statements stand in sharp contrast to ground-level developments inside India. ​

​The Thackeray faction accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders at the Centre and across various states of fostering an environment where minority communities face systematic exclusion, claiming their actions directly contradict Bhagwat’s public stance on Hindu-Muslim coexistence.

It cited a recent alleged “purification ceremony” conducted by local BJP activists in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, following a public address by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, pointing to it as evidence of a starkly polarised domestic atmosphere driven by political motives.

​”Such is the extreme nature of religion, caste, and inhumane behaviour within the BJP,” the editorial stated. “Do these antics fit into the Krishna Consciousness articulated by Bhagwat in America? Come to India and speak a bit about this as well.” ​

The editorial also drew attention to what it described as the RSS’s selective global posture, criticising its silence on major international humanitarian crises, including civilian casualties in Gaza, as a reflection of changing geopolitical calculations rather than universal human rights. ​

Taking aim at the ideological narratives presented during the American tour, the editorial alleged that the RSS chief deliberately shifted his focus away from Lord Ram to avoid uncomfortable questions regarding domestic governance and financial accountability.

​The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena claimed that the political utility of the Ram Temple movement had been exhausted for the ruling apparatus, accusing supporters tied to the Sangh ecosystem of financial mismanagement surrounding the Ayodhya temple project.

​”The Hindu community in America donated heavily for the construction of the Ram Temple, which was looted in Ayodhya. Neither PM Modi nor the Sarsanghchalak commented on this loot,” the editorial alleged, adding that Bhagwat “escaped accountability on American soil by speaking about Krishna’s ideas instead of Lord Ram”.

The Thackeray camp underscored the striking parallel between political developments abroad, noting that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged in high-level talks in Tashkent to elevate India-Uzbekistan ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Bhagwat’s US visit — organised as part of the RSS centenary outreach — drew active demonstrations, political pushback, and intense scrutiny over the gap between international rhetoric and domestic reality.

​Concluding with a reference to core tenets of the Bhagavad Gita, the editorial noted that true spiritual authority demands selflessness, equanimity, and the elimination of ego rather than social division or political posturing, urging the RSS leadership to match its global preachings with meaningful action at home.

IANS