What Rahul Gandhi said about Assam's saint Sankardev at the finale of Bharat Jodo Yatra

Amid snowfall, the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which covered a dozen states and two Union territories, came to an end with a rally in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar.

Addressing a gathering amid heavy snowfall on January 30, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke about the term 'Kashmiriyat' wherein he cited the example of Assamese saint and scholar Sankardev.

Rahul Gandhi said, "In Assam, Sankardev said that people should be united and not attack others but instead be critics of themselves."

This statement came after the Congress leader asserted that the way people here in Jammu and Kashmir speak about 'Kashmiriyat', which he regarded as his home, is been followed in other parts of the country.

Explaining the meaning of 'Kashmiriyat', Rahul Gandhi said that the thought process of Lord Shiva if understood more deeply, could be regarded as 'zero', i.e. criticising oneself's ego and thinking, on the other hand in Islam also wherein as per Lord Shiva which is regarded as 'zero', in Islam it is called 'fanna', the thought process is all same.

In Islam 'fanna' means to attack upon oneself, attack over one's thinking where people built a castle around and boost upon.

"Both 'Zero' and 'Fanna' is all same...In this world both the thought process exists and there is a deep relation from ages which here we call it 'Kashmiriyat'," said Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi citing examples from other states also claimed that the same thought process also exists in other parts of India.

"Mahatma Gandhi spoke about 'Vaishnav Jan To' which is the same as 'zero' or 'fanna' here," he added.

Who is Sankardev?

Srimanta Sankardev was a 15th–16th-century Assamese polymath; a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist social-religious reformer and a figure of importance in the cultural and religious history of Assam, India. 

After the death of Sankardev, Madhavdev incorporated narrations of his life in prayer services, a practice that was followed by his apostles, and in due course of time, a large body of biographical literature arose.