Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday, 7 December, questioned those refusing to sing ‘Vande Mataram’, saying : "If not your mother, who would you salute, Afzal Guru?"
Naidu was speaking at the launch of a book on former Vishva Hindu Parishad chief, the late Ashok Singhal.
When someone says 'Bharat Mata ki jai' it is not only about some goddess in a photo, Naidu said. "It is about all 125 crore people living in this country irrespective of their caste, colour, creed and religion. They all are Indians”.
Hinduism is the culture and tradition of India which has been passed on from various generations. There could be different ways of worship, but there is only one way of life, that is Hinduism, he added.
Naidu attributed the non-violent nature of Indians to Hinduism saying: "every Tom, Dick and Harry attacked India, ruled it, ruined and looted it, but India never attacked any country because of its culture."
Our culture teach us Vasudev Kutumbkam, that means the world is one family, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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