Mangaluru: Pramod Mutalik, chief of the Sri Rama Sene, reiterated that Hindus should keep swords in their houses for self-protection. He was speaking to media after taking part in the Mathru Pooja programme near Kadri Temple here on Sunday.

Mutalik said for all mothers, Indian warrior king Shivaji’s mother Jijabai should be an inspiration as she brought him up with stories from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. “These are bad times and we need to protect ourselves from atrocities, terrorism and corruption,” he said.

He said post-Independence, 7 lakh Hindus were driven out of Kashmir. “In Kerala, the population of Hindus has fallen below 50%. Though Muslims have been given permission to build mosques all over the country, it’s unfortunate we cannot build the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya,” he said.

Pointing out they were the first to expose love jihad cases, Mutalik added that they were dubbed communal. “Now, people have become aware of this menace. We need to restrict and check use of mobiles by youths. We need celebrations which start with lighting of lamps and not Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day which start with lighting the candle and blowing it out later,” he said.