News Analysis India

Tag: Mohan Bhagwat

  • Muslims who migrated to Pakistan don’t enjoy much respect there, they belong to India: Mohan Bhagwat

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Hindus and Muslims share the same ancestors and if this thought process had persisted at the time of the freedom movement, India’s partition could have been stopped, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said Tuesday.

    He said the Muslims who migrated to Pakistan don’t enjoy much respect and prestige there while those who stayed here belong to India irrespective of their methodology of worship.

    Bhagwat also called for a harmonious society.

    India’s age-old culture of Hindutva and Sanatan Dharma is liberal, Bhagwat said, adding, “We inherited this culture and nobody can be differentiated due to their way of worshipping. Our (Hindus’ and Muslims’) ancestors are one. If this thought process had persisted at the time of the freedom movement, there would have been a way to stop Partition.”

    Bhagwat made these remarks at the launch of a book on Hindutva icon VD Savarkar.

    He said Savarkar was a nationalist and visionary.

    Bhagwat said Savarkar’s Hindutva was all about a united India where no one is differentiated on the basis of their religion, caste and status and it was based on the idea of country first.

    “Several people talked about Hindutva and unity in the Indian society, it was just that Savarkar spoke about it loudly and now, after so many years, it is being felt that had everyone spoken loudly, no division (of the country) would have happened,” he added.

    “Muslims who migrated to Pakistan after the partition have no prestige in that country, because they belong to India and it cannot be changed. We have the same ancestors, only our methodology of worship is different and we are all proud of our liberal culture of Sanatan Dharma.

    That heritage takes us forward, that is why all of us are living here together,” Bhagwat said.

    He also said whether it is Savarkar’s Hindutva or Vivekananda’s Hindutva, all are the same as they all talk about the same cultural nationalism where people are not differentiated on the basis of their ideology.

    “Why should we differentiate? We are born in the same country, we fought for it. It is just our methodology to worship god that is different. And different ways to worship god has been our tradition,” Bhagwat said.

    The RSS chief said it would not be inappropriate to call the current era as “Savarkar’s era as its an era of nationalists”.

  • RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat junks allegation of Swayam Sevaks interfering with administration

    By PTI

    UDAIPUR: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday junked the allegations of Sangh Swayam Sevaks interfering with administration saying that meeting political leaders or discussing various issues with them does not amount to “participation in power”.

    He asserted that this allegation is the creation of media.

    “The participation of the Sangh in power is misleading and of the media origin,” Bhagwat was quoted as saying during a dialogue with intellectuals in Udaipur.

    He said if RSS Swayam Sevaks meet political leaders to discuss various issues with them, it should not be seen as participation in power.

    “Other governments including those of communists have also been taking cooperation of Sangh volunteers in many works,” Bhagwat was quoted as saying in an RSS release.

    Bhagwat made the observations while addressing an intellectuals’ conference and responding to their queries.

    Bhagwat said the Sangh Swayam Sevaks work with the objective of nation-building through the character building of people.

    Referring to the Sangh founder K B Hedgewar, Bhagwat said he used to say that the organisation of Hindu society can solve all problems of the country.

    “The Hindu ideology is that of peace and truth. We are not Hindus, such a campaign is being run with the aim of weakening the country and society. Where the Hindu population has decreased, problems have arisen,” he said.

    Bhagwat said the selfless service of Sangh volunteers during the Covid pandemic is an example of Hindutva.

    The Sangh does not hanker for any praise or name, he said, adding the word ‘Hindu’ was publicly avoided till the 80s and the Sangh worked in such adverse situations.

    “Sangh is an organisation of credible and trustworthy people of the society whose words and deeds do not differ,” he asserted.

    In response to a question on RSS workers’ plight in Kerala and West Bengal, he said what the society suffers from, the Swayam Sevaks too suffer from.

    He said the volunteers, however, are not going to panic and run away.

    On the question of discrimination-free society and reservation, Bhagwat said “in the Sangh’s Shahkas, people are taught to be non-discriminatory. We are Hindus, this is what is taught in Sakhas.”

    “Therefore, there is no atmosphere of such discrimination in the Sangh. The volunteer tries to implement this ideal in personal life as well,” he said.

    He said the Sangh’s purpose is to organise the entire Hindu society.

    Bhagwat said “the Sangh should be understood from within, not from outside.”

    “The Sangh is doing good work in the interest of the country, society and religion,” he said.

  • RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to visit Jammu and Kashmir in October, first time after abrogation of article 370

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to undertake his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir post the abrogation of articles 370 and 35 A.

    Bhagwat, during his three-day visit to the Union Territory from October 1 to October 3, will interact with ‘prabudh varg’ members, informed sources.

    Apart from meeting intellectuals in the Union Territory, the RSS Sarsanghchalak has a packed schedule as this visit comes after a gap of more than two years. Meeting intellectuals in Jammu is the only public programme, Bhagwat will attend, sources added.

    Sources in the Sangh said that RSS Sarsanghchalak who usually visit every “Prant” once in two years has lesser visits over the past two years due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    Touted as his first visit to the Union Territory post abrogation of articles 370 and 35 A, sources said Bhagwat could not visit earlier due to the ongoing pandemic situation.

    The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the restriction of physical movement and gathering.

    “He usually visits a ‘prant’ once in two years but due to Covid related protocols, these visits were limited. Also, if Sarsanghchalak visits a region he would want to meet pracharaks and those involved in Sangh works and review progress. That wasn’t possible because of Covid situation and this the visit after a long gap,” said a senior RSS functionary.

    The RSS chief will meet pracharaks and heads of RSS affiliates working in Jammu and Kashmir and take stock of the changed situation on the ground.

    “We focus on society and its concerns and this visit is significant in light of the improved situation in the Union Territory. A stocktaking of activities will also be done,” added the source.

    In August 2019, the Centre abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution of India that gave special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the region into two territories- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

  • RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on three-day Jharkhand trip

    By PTI

    DHANBAD: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat reached Dhanbad on Friday morning on a three-day visit to take stock of the organisation in Jharkhand.

    Bhagwat was given a rousing welcome by state BJP leaders, and ABVP and Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh activists as he reached Dhanbad from Patna on the Ganga-Damodar Express around 4.50 am.

    The organisers took him to Rajkamal Saraswati Vidyamandir guest house, the main venue for the programmes during his visit.

    The main focus of Bhagwat’s visit is to discuss with activists about spreading RSS to 1,264 mandals and 847 bastis of the state, an official of the organising committee said.

    “He holds meetings for organisation extension across the country round the year. During the visit to Dhanbad, he will hold such meetings,” he said.

    Bhagwat is scheduled to meet 40 pracharak pramukhs of Jharkhand and Bihar around 2 pm.

    On Saturday, he would meet officials and members of prantiya karyakarni.

    On Sunday, he would meet Dhanbad Mahanager RSS shakha chief teachers, shakha karyvah and milan pramukh.

    During the visit, he would also meet 100 eminent people from different fields.

  • British created Hindu-Muslim trust deficit, says RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday said the British made Hindus and Muslims fight each other by misleading them.

    “Britishers told the Muslims that only the Hindus will get elected (in a democratic India) because they are in the majority. Muslims will not get anything. Their demands will not be fulfilled. The British exhorted them to demand a separate country,” Bhagwat said, speaking at a symposium on the topic ‘Rashtra Pratham—Rashtra Sarvopari’ in Mumbai. He met intellectuals from the Muslim community. 

    “They (British) said Islam will disappear from India. Did it happen? No. Since the time of the arrival of Muslim rulers and till today, the Muslim religion has not disappeared. It is very much there. Today, a Muslim can get into any post in India,” Bhagwat said.

    He further said the British created a misconception.

    “They told the Hindus that the Muslims are extremists. They made both the communities fight. As a result of that fight, and the trust deficit it generated, both have been talking about keeping a distance from each other. We need to change our vision. We have to find out the permanent solution by going to root cause of this disease,” Bhagwat said at the outreach programme.

  • Britishers created communication gap between Hindu and Muslims, claims RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

    By Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday said Britishers made Hindus and Muslims fight by creating misconception, at a symposium on the topic of ‘Rashtra Pratham – Rashtra Sarvopari’ in Mumbai

    RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat met intellectuals from the Muslim community at a five-star hotel in Mumbai, where he said that Britishers told Muslim that you will not get anything in majority Hindu India because in democracy, the majority rules.

    “Britisher told Muslims that the Hindus will only get elected because they are in majority in a democracy. Muslims will not get anything. Their demands will not be fulfilled as well. Besides, Britishers told Muslims that they won’t get anything if they decided to live with Hindus, that only Hindus will be elected and exhorted them to demand a separate (nation). They said Islam will disappear from India. Did it happen? No. Muslims can hold all posts. Since the time of arrivals of Muslim rulers and till today, the Muslim religion has not disappeared. It is very much there. So, the wrong information was spread. The Muslim can also get posts and positions in India. There are many who are getting it and continue to achieve it,” Bhagwat said.

    He further said they (Britishers) created a misconception. “They told Hindus that Muslims are extremists. They made both the communities fight. As a result of that fight and trust deficit, both have been talking about keeping a distance from each other. We need to change our vision.  They always fanned the clashes between two communities. And that caused a communication gap between two communities, rather than bridging it, we following the wrong people and widening it. We have to find out the permanent solution by going to root cause of this disease,” Mohan Bhagwat added.

    The Muslim outreach program was arranged by Global Strategic Policy Foundation Pune in Mumbai’s luxury hotel.

  • India’s pride is in its traditional knowledge, need not copy other countries: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: India’s pride is in its traditional knowledge and it need not copy other countries, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Tuesday.

    Bhagwat was speaking at the launch of the book, “Bharat Vaibhav”, by the National Book Trust (NBT).”

    India’s pride is its traditional knowledge.

    India was born to share its knowledge tradition with the whole world…The ocean of information about India should be translated into all Indian languages and should be widely publicised.

    “I am often asked why cannot we do like China or America or Russia. I would say why do we have to copy any other country, why do we have to do like them, we should do things our own way,” he said in his address.

    He claimed that the earlier education policy did not talk enough about “the great deeds of our own people” and noted that the new national education policy will give importance to Indian languages.

    “What is the point if whatever is taught in our country does not talk about the great deeds of our people. Our education policy didn’t talk about this,” he said.

    The book ‘Bharat Vaibhav’ presents the various dimensions of India and its traditional knowledge system, its ancient culture and civilization and its need for today’s world.

    Governor of Kerala Arif Mohammad Khan said that the morale and self-confidence of any nation have only been awakened with the help of its culture.

    “Indian culture is eternal and it is our collective responsibility to try our best to imbibe it in our lives and pass it to our future generations as well,” he said.

  • Man arrested for ‘objectionable’ comments about RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on WhatsApp message

    By PTI

    SAMBHAL: A young man has been arrested for making alleged objectionable comments about RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on a WhatsApp message in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh, a police officer said on Wednesday.

    A case was registered against the man under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and he was arrested based on a complaint filed by the district coordinator of the RSS-backed student organisation Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the officer said.

    “Vishal Maurya of Ganesh Colony here made some objectionable comments about Bhagwat. A complaint was filed by ABVP district coordinator Akash Kumar stating that his comments hurt their feeling and that the youth also misbehaved with him,” Superintendent of Police Chakresh Mishra said.

    The man’s mobile phone has been seized and a detailed probe into the matter is underway, the officer said.

  • No Muslim will face any loss due to CAA, says RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said the Muslims in India would not face any loss due to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA.

    “CAA and NRC (National Register of Citizens) are not against Indian citizens. The Muslims in India are not going to suffer from any loss due to CAA,” Bhagwat said at a book release programme in Guwahati.

    According to the RSS chief, there are several methods for a country or a government to know its citizens and NRC was one of them.

    “This (NRC) is not against anybody. NRC was made a Hindu-Muslim issue but it is not. Such things happen (as some try) to gain political mileage,” Bhagwat said.

    He said it happened in every country that it tried to figure out its citizens. It is a matter of knowledge and information and it is the same in the case of people visiting another country, he said.

    “Every government in the world checks if the people, who arrived after obtaining a visa, are visiting the places they are supposed to. It also tries to find out who those people are who came without permission,” the RSS chief said.

    He said India would not have been partitioned if the views of the people were taken. He said the entire populace that fought to drive out the British had imagined the whole of “Bharat” to become one independent nation.

    “But there was division. The views of people were not taken for a consensus during partition. If their views were taken, there would never have been any partition. But the leaders decided and the public accepted it,” Bhagwat said.

    He added that due to that decision, some people lost their homes and hearth and it continued to this day.

  • No Muslim will face any loss due to the citizenship law, says RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who is in Assam on a two-day visit, said on Wednesday that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) have nothing to do with Hindu-Muslim divide and communal narrative surrounding the two issues were being peddled by some to gain political mileage.

    He further emphasised that no Muslim will face any loss due to the citizenship law.

    “After independence, the first prime minister of the country had said that minorities will be taken care of, and that has been done so far. We will continue to do so. No Muslim will face any loss due to CAA,” Bhagwat said after launching a book here, titled ‘Citizenship debate over NRC and CAA-Assam and the Politics of History’.

    The citizenship law is will provide protection to persecuted minorities in the neighbouring countries, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief underlined.

    “We reach out to the majority communities, too, in these countries during a calamity… So if there are some who wish to come to our country due to threats and fear, we will definitely have to help them out,” Bhagwat said.

    Talking about NRC, he stated that all nations have the right to know who its citizens are.

    “The matter is in the political domain as the government is involved in it… A section of people wants to get political mileage by creative a communal narrative around these two issues,” he added.