Modi govt not ‘walking the talk’ of empowerment, says AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi

Senior RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha, however, said, “Parishkrit means Muslims should evolve from the old mindset – (they should) stop seeing themselves as the ‘other’ in Indian civilisation. They have to critically examine and accept pre-Islamic cultural and intellectual legacy of India.”

In what was seen as an attempt to reach out to the Muslim community, Modi had Sunday quoted Sangh ideologue and former Jana Sangh president Deendayal Upadhyaya and said, “Do not reward them, do not rebuke them; empower them.”

Sinha today said: “Those who are attacking Modji for his speech, I ask them to read Nehru’s address at AMU in January 1948, in which he asked Muslims: do you believe in part of intellectual and cultural legacy of India? Do you feel thrilled at it or consider it alien?”

“Cultural imperatives demand that Muslims should accept the integral and intellectual legacy of India.” Owaisi said, “We all know what he (Upadhyay) stood for. He coined the term ‘Indianisation of Islam’, propounded in his theory of ‘Integral Humanism’ that Muslims cannot be trusted, (and) opposed Urdu.”