Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s concept of Hindu rashtra is not political or power centered, said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in his annual address on the occasion of Dussehra at the organisation’s headquarters in Nagpur.
“When Sangh says Hindusthan is Hindu Rashtra, it does not have any political or power-centered concept in its mind. Hindutva is the essence of this Rashtra’s ‘swa’(selfhood). We are plainly acknowledging the selfhood of the country as Hindu,” said Mr. Bhagwat. He added that the Hindu culture has expressed itself in diverse forms, “But, some groups are trying to spread hatred in society by creating insecurity among them, stating that diversity will be finished if they identify themselves as Hindu,” he said.
Mr. Bhagwat claimed that the word Hindutva was applicable to the 1.3 billion people of India as the word expressed identity, continuity of spirituality-based traditions and the entire wealth of value system in the land of Bharat.
Lashing out at the opposition, the RSS chief said, “Healthy political competition is always welcome, but competition that morphs into hatred, bitterness and animosity thereby weakening the social fabric is unwarranted. Those misaligned with or opposed to our socio-cultural values, have, while professing to be the champions of democracy and secularism, continued to fool and confuse people.”
“The ‘swa’ or ‘self’ in ‘swadeshi’ refers to the same Hindutva. That spirit or ‘swa’ should be the compass directing our intellectual brainstorming and plans of action,” he said.
Commenting on anti-CAA protests, Mr. Bhagwat said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act does not oppose any particular religious community. “But those who wanted to oppose this new law misled our Muslim brothers by propagating a false notion that it was aimed at restricting the Muslim population,” he said. The RSS chief claimed that using CAA, opportunists unleashed organised violence in the name of protests. “Even before something could be thought out, corona crept in. In the background, the efforts by rioters and opportunists to reignite the conflict still continue,” he said.
Commenting on the ongoing stand-off with China, Mr. Bhagwat said that Indian defence forces, government and the people remained unfazed and responded sharply to China’s efforts of invading our territories. “Rising above China economically and strategically and securing cooperative ties with our neighbours are the only way to neutralise the expansionist aspirations of China. Our present policies seem to be charting those very horizons,” he said, in an apparent approval of the Centre’s dealing with the China issue.
He added that mistaking India’s benevolence for weakness and attemptimg to disintegrate or weaken it by sheer brute force is unacceptable. “The message sent by our leaders with a sense of self-respect and the indomitable ethical-patience of our citizens must compel China to reform its attitude. But if push comes to shove, we will not fall short of alertness, firmness and readiness,” he said.
