RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale has called upon Indians living abroad to contribute more to the local community to integrate deeper into the host society, while remaining rooted to Indian values and ethos.
In an exclusive interview with PTI Videos, Hosabale also called on the Indian diaspora to not carry their religious, linguistic and caste divisions in their adopted country, and present themselves as a united Indian community rather than a Telugu, Punjabi or Tamil group.
“Be a Roman when in Rome. This adage has to be followed,” he said.
Indians should contribute to the nation building of the host country, he said.
“You have an obligation to the host community, host society, host nation, where you earn your bread. Your allegiance should not be questioned. You should show that by your behaviour. Of course, your connection with India is quite natural. It should be there. But at the same time, you should also be concerned about the community around you where you are living. Serve them,” he said.
Hosabale also answered questions whether Indians abroad, particularly in the United States, are attracting unduly unfavourable attention from their local counterparts by displaying their Indianness too aggressively.
Asked about an Indian community in Texas recently building a 90-foot towering statue of Hanuman, which caused some unease, according to a report in the New York Times, the RSS second-in-command said nothing that the Indians have done, including the construction of the statute or temples, is illegal.
The RSS leader, who recently returned from a trip to the United States and Europe, noted that the Indian diaspora has “definitely” made a mark in the countries they are living in.
“They have grown...economically. And their contribution to national wealth is also now being recognised. And in the last eight years, the per capita income of Hindu community has definitely gone up. And they're a well-meaning society,” Hosabale said.
When it was pointed out that the Indian community’s philanthropic contribution to the society in the United States is miniscule compared to the Jewish community, the RSS leader said they should contribute more according to their number and their earnings.
“And we are emphasising on that and it is increasing now. See, the first generations were struggling for their own survival and their own recognition. Now they are a confident community. Definitely they will be doing it. I have no doubt about it,” he said.
Hosabale said that when he interacted with Indian NRIs in the US in formal and informal settings he told them “individually most of you are successful”.
“But community wise are we successful? No doubt you organise many programmes, come together, etc. But at the same time, differences...should not make us weak,” he said.
Hosabale said that the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), created in foreign countries along the lines of the RSS but functioning independently, runs about 175 ‘shakhas’ in different parts of the US.
“When they come to Sangh shakha there...differences (linguistic, caste, etc) are disappearing. So that's one thing which we have tried to,” he said.
Asked if he envisioned bringing the entire Indian diaspora of about 54 lakhs in the US to become HSS members, Hosabale said: “All of them cannot come under the HSS. It is impractical. But the thing is, it can have that influence... They can definitely have networking.” The HSS has about five lakh Indians as its members in the US, he said, adding that the HSS is not operated by the RSS.
“The HSS people are there in different countries. They are having their own organisations. They are created according to the law of the land in those countries. We don't operate through them. And we are not guiding them on anything.
"The only thing is that when they invite us, we go and discuss and talk. They are independent organisations, they have to fix the target and achieve it in their own way,” he said.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
