If Hindus think Muslims have no place, they cease to be Hindu: Mohan Bhagwat in New York

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday (August 29, 2026) said that Hindutva does not envisage a Bharat (name he uses for India) without Muslims, asserting that a person who believes Muslims should have no place in the country would cease to be a Hindu.

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Addressing an event in New York City where he spoke with leaders from different communities and religions, Mr. Bhagwat said that Muslims, during a dialogue with him, had questioned him about the RSS’s vision of a “Hindu Rashtra” and whether Muslims would be driven out of the country. “I said, no, that is not Hindutva. If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslims in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu,” he said.

Mr. Bhagwat stressed that while people may follow different religions, humanity remains one. “We live in a society where religions may be different, but humanity is one,” he said, adding that india’s tradition had been to provide shelter to people irrespective of their religious identity.