The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has termed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent “Hindu Rashtra” comment as “unconstitutional and a remark that strikes at the very foundation of India’s secular, pluralistic and democratic ethos.” In a statement, NSF president Mteisuding and general secretary Kenilo Kent asserted India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, stating that 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,” the NSF leaders asserted.
The federation noted that such divisive statements continued to be issued from positions of influence, emboldening majoritarian narratives at the cost of minority communities. “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,” the NSF stated.
It observed that minority communities have increasingly borne the brunt of intolerance, often with inadequate state response, be it desecration of places of worship, mob violence, coercive conversion claims to systemic profiling.
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, the narrative of a singular “Hindu Rashtra” has dangerously undermined the constitutional promise of equality and violates the secular character of the Republic,” it stated. NSF further called upon the central government 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.”
