“If asked why people are safe in India, I would say that there is a Constitution in the country, there is democracy, there are the armed forces, and fourthly the RSS is there.” said Justice Thomas in a program in Kerala. He was speaking as the Chief guest at the valedictory program of the Prathmik Siksha Varga ( Instructors Training camp ) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at Kottayam, Kerala on Sunday 31st December 2017.
Justice KT Thomas is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India and one of the most respected judges.
Justice Thomas appreciated the Sangh for imparting discpline and sense of patriotism to protect the country. He said, “If asked why people are safe in India, I would say that there is a Constitution in the country, there is democracy, there are the armed forces, and fourthly the RSS is there.
What prompts me to say is that the RSS had worked against the Emergency. The RSS’s strong and well-organised work against the Emergency had reached then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi…. She understood that it could not go (on for) long.”
“If an organisation has to be given credit for freeing the country from the Emergency, I would give that to the RSS.
“The word “Hindu” in fact connotes the culture of Hindustan. In the past, Hindustan had inspired everyone, now that word has been set apart for the RSS and the BJP.” he said.
Speaking on the topic of Secularism, Justice Thomas said that the Constitution has not defined secularism. “The minorities use secularism for their protection, but the concept of secularism is much more than that. It means that dignity of every individual should be protected. The dignity of a person should be seen above partisan approach, influences and activities,” he said. Secularism he said, is not to protect religion.
He said, “In the Constitution, religion has the fifth position —fundamental right of religion should come only below an individual’s fundamental rights.”
Stating that India is the only country which has a commission for minorities, Thomas said the section of minorities has not been defined in the Constitution. But the concept of minority in India is based on religious belief and population size, he said. “Minorities feel insecure only when they start demanding rights which the majority segments don’t have,” he said.
In the past, Justice Thomas had said that he became an admirer of the RSS in 1979 when he was posted as district judge of Kozhikode, adding that simple living and high thinking was its hallmark. “I am a Christian. I was born as a Christian and practise that religion. I am a church-going Christian. But I have also learnt many things about RSS,” he had then said.
He had also called to end the smear campaign on RSS by some motivated sections.
