Former Union Minister and BJP MP Satya Pal Singh on Friday said Indians were descendants of "Rishis" (sages) and not of "monkeys", and added that Indian culture has not talked of "human rights" but of dutifulness and good habits.
Taking part in the debate on the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha, Singh also said that human rights are a western concept and most human rights orgsations "work against the establishment".
However, Singh's remarks concerning the theory of evolution drew sharp reactions from some opposition members.
Singh said that a human being was a unique creation of nature as he evolves through thinking and grows in a social milieu by adapting to the circumstances.
"We feel we are descendants of rishis (sages). Our Indian culture believes we are their descendants. I do not want to hurt sentiments of those who say they are descendants of monkeys. I and the Indian culture believe we are descendants of "rishis" and "munis," he said.
Singh, who is a former Mumbai Commissioner, was interrupted by Trinamool Congress members Mahua Moitra and Saugata Roy. Moitra said that his remarks were "against the theory of evolution".
Singh hit back and said that "those who don't understand the value of human rights, they do this in between."
Singh, who was Minister of State for Human Resource Development in the previous BJP-led government, had claimed earlier that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution of man was "scientifically wrong" and it needs to be changed in the curriculum. He had said that man has always been a man.
In his intervention, Singh said Indian culture has laid emphasis on the development of human personality and not on human rights.
"How to develop a person into a good human being on the basis of his thoughts and deeds, our culture has laid emphasis on that," he said.
He said one should behave with others in the manner one expects them to behave.
"Only visiting temples, mosques, gurdwaras, and churches is not dharma. Behaving in the same way with others as one would expect with oneself that is dharma. If I want that nobody should disturb me, I should not disturb others too," he said.
Singh said Vedas speak of looking at all living beings in a friendly way.
"We have never talked of human rights but of dutifulness and good character. We gave the slogan of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' to the world. Human rights are a Western concept. We have laid emphasis on sacrifice and sharing. We feel a human being is a trustee of nature," he said.
Singh said that those who killed thousands of people, looted in the name of religion and committed atrocities, captured lands and countries later started talking about human rights.
"Whether it is the history of the US, New Zealand, Australia, and Europe, those who killed people in the name of religion, later started talking about human rights. Till the time there is the emphasis on duty, what will rights do," he said.
He said most human rights orgsations receive foreign funds. "In the last five years, such orgsations had to shut down due to actions of the Modi government," he said.
"Most of these human right orgsations work against the police and the government. They do not work against terrorists, Maoists," he said.
Singh asked why the Vohra Committee report that looked into the serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993 was not made public. He said the report went into the nexus which also allegedly involved human rights orgsations.
He also questioned the delay in the hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and 1993 Mumbai terror attack accused Yakub Memon.
( With inputs from ANI )