Jung, Quraishi and others discuss community bonds with RSS chief

The RSS is working to bridge the gap between communities. Five noted Muslim intellectuals had recently written a joint letter to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat requesting a meeting to discuss ways to address this issue. They included former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, former CEC SY Quraishi, RLD leader Shahid Siddiqui, Saeed Shervani, and former Aligarh Muslim University vice-chancellor Zameer Uddin Shah.

The RSS chief met them two weeks ago at Keshav Kunj in Delhi.

"It appears as if the communities are enemies. Actually, we are not and we have jointly made an effort to bridge the communication gap and jointly work on taking the nation forward. This is a completely apolitical effort," a person who was part of the meeting told ET. The backdrop of the meeting was the Nupur Sharma incident and the killing of Kanhaiya Lal in Rajasthan.


Bhagwat said such meetings should take place regularly for the betterment of the country.

The issue of Gyanvapi mosque, however, was not part of the meeting.

As per sources, another meeting will take place with a larger group of people in the coming days. As of now, the Muslim intellectuals are in discussion with different groups of people with an agenda to take everyone along and move ahead.

The RSS and the BJP too, have increased their engagement with the minority community over the past few months and a trust-building effort is being taken up. RSS sources told ET that the leadership has always been open to meeting people from all communities and has been doing so regularly.