Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar on Sunday said 99 per cent Muslims in India are "Hindustani" by their ancestry, culture, traditions and motherland.
He also supported the view expressed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in the past that Indians had common ancestors, hence their DNA is common.
Kumar was addressing the concluding ceremony of the two-day state-level workshop of activists of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), the Muslim wing of the RSS, at Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini at Uttan in Thane district.
"We must consider our duty towards our nation as supreme and above all other things as per the directives and tenets of the Holy Quran," a release quoted Kumar as saying. "Ninety-nine per cent Muslims in India are Hindustani by their ancestors, culture, traditions and motherland," he said.
As per the release, Kumar referred to RSS chief Bhagwat's past statement on Indians having common DNA, and said, "D means the dreams we get everyday, N denotes native nation and A represents ancestors. We all dream in our mother tongue."
"We have common ancestors and share a common native nation which makes all of us share the common DNA," said Kumar, a member of the national executive committee of the RSS.
A total of 250 activists from more than 40 locations across the state, including women activists, attended the workshop.
MRM national conveners Irfan Ali Pirjade, Virag Pachpore and other officer-bearers of the organisation were present on the occasion.
Pachpore traced the two-decade-long journey of the MRM since its foundation in 2002 and spoke about its activities, programmes and campaigns on issues like triple talaq, Jammu and Kashmir, Ayodhya, cow slaughter, terrorism, among others.