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DiCaprio, Branson on guest list as RSS-linked outfit turns 50
NEW DELHI: Celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Richard Branson will reportedly attend an RSS-affiliated event in Britain next month, in what the group could
NEW DELHI: Celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Richard Branson will reportedly attend an RSS-affiliated event in Britain next month, in what the group could flaunt as global endorsement of its strident brand of Hinduism that many in India oppose.
Oscar-winner DiCaprio and airline magnate Branson, both passionate advocates of meat-free diets, are among several invitees to a two-day meeting of the Hindu Swamaysevak Sangh (HSS), to be attended by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, a report in the opinion website DailyO said.
RSS sources confirmed that Bhagwat will attend the two-day ‘maha shivir’ (grand camp) being organised by the affiliate on July 30-31, but HT could not independently verify the guest list, which also includes Sir David Attenborough, a celebrated British broadcaster. DiCaprio is yet to respond to an e-mail sent by HT seeking confirmation of his participation in the event.
“Bhagwat ji was invited by the HSS, which has been working there for years. It will be the largest gathering of Hindus in the UK that he will address,” a Sangh leader said.
This is the golden jubilee year of the HSS, UK. Yearlong celebrations, planned to mark the event, include a residential gathering of over 2200 Hindus from across the UK and Europe at Hertfordshire County Show Ground.
The RSS has been pushing for a country-wide ban on beef eating and slaughter of cow, as well as backing a socio-cultural way of life that many consider intolerant of freedom of choice and other faiths.
DiCaprio, one of Hollywood’s most famous stars who won the Oscar this year for his role as a bear hunter in the epic survival film Revenant, had earlier produced Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, a documentary chronicling the animal agriculture industry’s allegedly cruel practices. Branson last year announced plans to start a ‘vegan airline’.
The report, however, did not say whether they have agreed to attend the conclave.
During his UK visit, Bhagwat will also meet the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, the symbolic head of the world’s Anglican Christians, the report added.
The HSS has been working in Britain since 1968 to propagate the right-wing organisation’s views.
