Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwarananda Saraswati met a group of Bangladeshi Hindus here on Wednesday and assured to raise their concerns with the government.
A 12-member group of Bangladeshi Hindus met Shankaracharya and sought his intervention to ensure the safety of their religion.
Bangladesh has been hit by widespread violence since the government changed its name following mass protests earlier this year, including against minority Hindus.
Swami Avimukteshwarananda assured the group of Bangladeshi Hindus that they would write a letter to the government urging them to take action on the matter.
Shankaracharya said, “Hindus are being persecuted in Bangladesh only because of their faith. These families have shared their grievances with me and I will convey their concerns to the Government of India.
Asked by journalists about Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent comments, Shankaracharya accused him of making politically motivated statements.
Swami Avimukteshwarananda said, “Bhagwat has claimed that some people raise temple-mosque issues to become leaders, but I want to clarify that common Hindus do not aspire to become leaders. Bhagwat does not truly understand the plight of common Hindus.
“When Bhagwat and his associates were not in power, they were keen to build the Ram temple,” he said. Now that they are in power, such statements are unnecessary.”
Shankaracharya said, “Mohan Bhagwat does not understand the pain of the common Hindu.”
Recently, several cases related to temple-mosque disputes have been filed in various courts in Uttar Pradesh, from the Shahi Jama Masjid of Sambhal to the Jama Masjid Shamsi of Badaun and the Atala Masjid of Jaunpur, where Hindu petitioners have claimed that there is no right to offer prayers. Permission has been sought that at the places where mosques are now there used to be ancient temples.
On December 19, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had expressed concern over the resurgence of several temple-mosque disputes and had said that after the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, some people have started believing that by raising such issues, ‘ Can become the leader of Hindus.
