Nagaland NSF slams RSS chief’s ‘Hindu Rashtra’ claim

Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has strongly condemned the recent RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent statement, in which he claimed India was a “Hindu Rashtra”.
In a press release, NSF president Mteisuding and general secretary Kenilo Kent said that such remarks were not only unconstitutional but also “strike at the very foundation of the Indians’ secular, pluralistic and democratic ethos.”
India, as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, the federation said the secular character of the nation was not an optional principle open for reinterpretation.
“It is a binding constitutional mandate that guarantees equal rights, dignity and protection to all citizens irrespective of religion, belief or cultural identity,” NSF asserted.
The federation expressed deep concern that such divisive statements continued to be issued from positions of influence, emboldening majoritarian narratives at the cost of minority communities.
NSF said that the country has witnessed a pattern of discrimination, targeted violence and institutionalised prejudice against religious and cultural minorities including Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and tribal Indigenous groups.
From the desecration of places of worship, mob violence, coercive conversion claims, to systemic profiling, NSF said minority communities have increasingly borne the brunt of intolerance, often with inadequate state response.
Further, NSF said that as Indigenous peoples of the Naga homeland, whose identity, faith and customs predate the political formation of India, they found such majoritarian assertions deeply concerning.
The federation maintained that Nagas in particular have long asserted their right to self-determination and to coexist with dignity within a democratic and secular framework.
However, NSF said that the narrative of a singular “Hindu Rashtra” dangerously undermined the constitutional promise of equality and violates the secular character of the Republic.
Therefore, NSF has called upon the Government of India to reaffirm its commitment to preserving secularism as the supreme guiding principle of the Republic and to take necessary steps to restrain statements that destabilized the constitutional fabric.
The federation also called upon all democratic and secular forces across the country to stand united against the “growing attempts to redefine India through majoritarian ideology.”
NSF also reaffirmed its “unwavering commitment” to the protection of universal rights, Indigenous identity and the constitutional values that ensured freedom and equality for all. It affirmed that any attempt to weaken the secular character of the Union of India must be challenged with clarity, conviction and collective resolve.