He travelled to the Capital from Calcutta, his home for 50 years on Tuesday, all set to deliver the keynote address at the meeting, accompanied by a 15-minute film on the work of the Friends of Tribal Societies, of which he is President. But though his friend, Murli Manohar Joshi, was impressed by the work his society has done in 1,300 villages in remote tribal areas, irate ministers from 12 states would have none of it at the conference, citing his association with Vidya Bharati, the education wing of the RSS.

Chitlangia who did not even put in an appearance at Vigyan Bhavan hotly denies any association with the RSS. ``But, yes, I am amember of the National Council of the BJP and am Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Bengal BJP,'' he says. He dubs ``mischievous propaganda'' reports that his society's schools teach a distorted view of Indian history and portray the Chinese as having descended from Indians. ``They must be referring to textbooks in Vidya Bharati schools,'' he says. ``In any case, what textbooks can you use for primary education in the remote rural areas where the society runs schools? We can impart only basic learning skills, that too at low cost.''

Clad in a crisp tussar silk dhoti-kurta and sporting gold-rimmed spectacles, the 62-year-old industrialist (he owns Sharda Ply, the makers of Duroply) sees no contradiction in his social work and his political affiliation. ``Gandhiji used to say that social work is the beginning of politics.'' He also sees nothing wrong in the Ramayana and Gita being included in school syllabi. ``If the Quran can be taught and the Bible can be taught, why not also these texts which impartmoral values? Do the Marxist-led states not include Communist ideology in their textbooks?''

The industrialist says he turned to the BJP in 1989 because he was struck by the failure of the Congress government to stem the eviction of Hindus from their janmabhoomi in Kashmir. ``At the same time, they requisitioned Indian Airlines and Air India planes to rescue Indian migrants to Kuwait during the Gulf War. Why? Only because they were Muslims.''