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'Swami Adhokshyananda is a fake...an imposter'

Swami Nischalananda Saraswati took over as the Shankaracharya of the Gobardhan Peeth, Puri on February 9, 1992. Ever since, controversies have dogged him. Whether it was his alleged denial of permission to women to recite the Vedas, call for a ban on cricket balls or his assertion that Muslims are second-class citizens, he was in the news all the time. Recently, he again hit the headlines when Swami Adhokshyananda surfaced in Puri and challenged his status as a Shankaracharya. Bibhuti Mishra spoke to the guru about controversies -- past and present.

Why do you think you are always in the eye of a storm?

I do not say or do things to remain in news. But the seat of Shankaracharya of Puri is very important and so it is natural that I am in the limelight.

The recent reappearance of Swami Adhokshyananda, a claimant to your seat, did stir up a hornet's nest.

As I said the seat of Shankaracharya of Puri is important. It is often targeted by people with evil motives. This fellow (Swami Adhokshyananda) is a fake and he is just a puppet on a chain pulled by politicians with nefarious intent. Anyway, I would not like to go into the details. It is sufficient to say that they would not succeed. All the Hindu institutions inside and outside the country recognise the significance of the Shankaracharya of Puri.

Then why did you feel the need to show the video cassette of your coronation?

Just to put the record straight. The coronation took place on the Basanta Panchami day (February 9) of 1992. It was performed by my guru Swami Niranjan Debateerthaji, the then Shankaracharya of Puri. I consented to occupy the holy seat after he executed a will and sent it to the Endowment Commissioner for necessary action.

But the government did not accord recognition to you for three years...

There were certain misconceptions and apprehensions that took time to be sorted out.

Swami Adhokshyananda claims that he was crowned by the 'Vidwan Mandali' of Kashi.

He is a fake...an impostor. What does he know? Action should be taken against him.

You have attacked the Congress and its chief Sonia Gandhi. You have not spared the Bharatiya Janata Party either. Are you disillusioned with politics and politicians?

It is not a question of disillusionment. I have never gone to any party or religious organisation -- not even the BJP or the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. I don't need to. They need me. I am nobody's agent. Every politician out of power comes to me and forgets me after assuming office. So far as the BJP is concerned, I only lauded the fact that they gave a measure of respectability to Hindutva.

But doesn't the respectability indicate the rise of fundamentalism in some ways?

No, it doesn't. It is a strange country where Hindus are made to feel guilty for being Hindus. I have been demanding an 'Akhand Bharat' since I took over. I raise slogans like 'Pakistan Bharat he' and 'Bangladesh Bharat he.' But the concept of an undivided Bharat is not limited to slogan shouting alone.

But such slogans might alienate minorities like Muslims.

Why should it be so, if they are Indians? Pakistan was carved out of India. So doesn't it mean that Hindus were left behind to spread their religious tenets in Hindustan? Hindus are a minority in Arab countries and Pakistan. Why should they be so in their own country?

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