Mumbai, Apr 23 (PTI) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) joint general secretary Krishna Gopal on Wednesday said “intolerance” in various forms was behind the killings in Kashmir.

He was speaking at an event here a day after 26 persons were killed in a terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

“A form of intolerance is driving the killings in Kashmir. One day, this intolerance will also lead to their (the ones who promote it) downfall,” he said, adding that such elements seek to harm those who do not agree with their beliefs.

This intolerance develops into a kind of nationalism, and it has divided people across the world, Krishna Gopal said.

“Nationalism has become very dangerous in Pakistan. The Baluch people say they do not want to live in Pakistan, Sindhi people say they do not want to live with Punjab. At the time of the creation of Bangladesh, they had said they were Bangla-speaking people, thus they could not live with Pakistan,” said the RSS leader.

In Europe, this kind of nationalism divided people, and Rabindranath Tagore called it the worst word coined by the human brain, Gopal said.

He contrasted this concept of nationalism with the Indian concept of “Rashtra”, which he said is based on spiritual and cultural unity despite vast diversity.

“Hundreds of languages, religions and lakhs of goddesses exist. But India is one….Diversity…has been managed successfully. Once we understand it, you will understand our concept of Rashtra,” he said.

Citing the recently held Kumbh Mela, he said it demonstrated India’s spiritual unity. “It would happen even without a government,” said the RSS leader while criticising a “materialistic approach” to the event.

“They study how many people came, how many new bridges were built, rise in power generation, garbage, hotels, trains, flights, revenue, toilets, new electricity poles….If you want to understand Kumbh, study an 80-year-old woman from Tamil Nadu carrying her clothes in a basket over her head, or speak to the 85-year-old man taken there by his two sons. These people will tell you about its spirit,” he said. PTI ND KRK