Dara Shikoh is Sangh's icon for Muslim outreach programme

In a first, the Rashtriya Sawayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will embark on a nationwide movement to bring harmony among the Hindu and Muslim communities. The Sangh has chosen Dara Shikoh, a liberal figure of the Mughal dynasty, for their first ever ideological outreach programme, reported news agency ANI.

The RSS has been counting on liberal Muslim icons like Dara Shikoh to promulgate the confluence of common knowledge, tradition and heritage, the report said. It has decided to bring together the two communities by highlighting the contribution of the Mughal prince and presenting him as a common heritage of both Hindus and Muslims.

On Wednesday (September 11), the RSS is scheduled to organise first such event at the Constitution Club of India, which will be addressed by Sangh leader Krishna Gopal. Cabinet minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and JNU professor Syed Ainul Hasan are also set to address a gathering there.

Several such events can be expected across the country in coming days to find a common ideological ground of the two communities.

“The events would try to elicit that if people like Dara Shikoh were in power instead of Aurangzeb, the history of India would have been different. This would also ensure the RSS’ long-pending view that we should acknowledge our common shared heritage,” a senior functionary was quoted as saying by ANI.

(With inputs from agencies)