Pune:

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has said some elements who don’t want India to grow are creating hindrance in the path of its development.

However, there is no need to be scared as a similar situation prevailed during the times of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, but it was tackled using the power of “dharma” or religion and righteousness, Mr Bhagwat said on Monday at the release of a book titled ‘Tanjavarche Marathe’, written by Dr Milind Paradkar.

He noted dharma does not mean just puja (rituals), but it is a broader concept that encompasses truth, compassion and ‘tapascharya’ (dedication).

The word ‘Hindu’ is an adjective that personifies acceptance of diversities, he said and emphasised India came into existence for a purpose and to push the idea of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” (the world is one family).

In the past “external” invasions of India were largely visible so people were alert, but now they are manifesting in different forms, Mr Bhagwat pointed out.

“When Tataka attacked (a demoness in Ramayana), a lot of chaos ensued and she was slain just by an arrow (by Ram and Laxman), but in case of Putna (demoness who came to kill infant Krishna), she came disguised as an aunt to breastfeed (infant Krishna), but as it was Krishna (who killed her).

“Today’s situation is the same. Attacks are taking place and they are devastating in every manner, be it economical, spiritual or political,” the RSS leader noted.

Some elements are creating obstacles in the path of India’s development and are fearful of its rise on the global stage, but they will not succeed, he asserted.

“All those who fear that if India grows big, their businesses will be shut, such elements are working to create hindrance in the path of country’s development and by galvanising all the power they have,” the RSS chief said.

“They are orchestrating methodical attacks, be it physical or invisible (sukshm), but there is no need to get scared as a similar situation prevailed during Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s times when there was no hope for India’s rise,” he said.

But there is one factor called ‘jivani shakti’ (power that infuses life) which defines India, Mr Bhagwat emphasised.

“Jivani shakti is the basis of our nation and that is founded on dharma which will be there forever,” he said.

Dharma was there at the beginning of the ‘srishti’ (nature or universe) and it (dharma) will be needed till the end, he said.

Mr Bhagwat stressed India is a very fortunate and blessed country.

“Due to the blessings and inspirations of great personalities and saints, the country became immortal. Because of this, our country, despite straying a little bit here and there, would ultimately come on tracks. This is the divine boon we have received and it was received for a specific purpose as God has entrusted us with responsibilities of the world,” he remarked.

“Other countries came into existence for struggle… for survival, but India’s creation was to demonstrate the idea of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, Mr Bhagwat opined.

He also said dharma is at the core of unity.

“This thread of unity is derived from dharma. When I say dharma that does not mean puja (rituals), dharma does not mean eat this, do not eat that, do not touch (something). Dharma means truth, compassion, tapascharya. Why to feel ashamed of these things?” Mr Bhagwat asked.

He referred to a book written by legendary freedom fighter and nationalist Subhash Chandra Bose to point out how the British rulers looked at India.

“I recently came across a book, ‘Indian Resistance’, written by Subhash Chandra Bose. Bose writes in the first chapter that the British thought that because of them, India was a country, else it was just a collection of multiple states, but according to him (Bose), it was wrong,” the RSS leader said.

Bose wrote in the book that Bharatvarsh has remained united just because of Hindu dharma, he contended.

“Bose called himself a Leftist in the book. The Leftist group in the Congress. Who were others who were named Leftists – Lokmanya Tilak, Babu Arvind Ghosh. The Leftist means those who want pivotal changes in society and those who want complete swarajya (freedom). In our region, we call them ‘jahal’ (aggressive),” Mr Bhagwat said, quoting from the book.

He said Hindu word was not used at that time, but Bose used the term without any hesitation.

“Hindu is not a name. It is an adjective that describes and accepts all diversities. That is why when Marathas (during Shivaji-era) went to (present-day) Tamil Nadu (Thanjavur) they were not treated as outsiders. They are accepted because of their work and behaviour,” the RSS leader noted.

Mr Bhagwat said after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s great escape from Mughal captivity in Agra, it became evident that ‘swaraj’ (self-rule) was here to stay.

“Everyone got the solution and they started their fight (against Mughals). Had there been no British rule (after Mughals), the country would have been more united despite all its diversities,” he noted. 

CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has said that Kerala would reject the National Council for Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) proposal to supplant India with Bharat in the social sciences curriculum for schools.

CPI(M) State Secretary M. V. Govindan told reporters in New Delhi that schools following the State syllabus would resist the NCERT’s move to inject “science, fact and history-denying Sangh Parivar rendition of India’s past into younger generations.

“Kerala school textbooks will cite the country’s name as India as articulated in Article I of the Constitution. They will dwell on subjects abandoned by the Sangh Parivar-led Central government, including Darwin’s theory of evolution, the Mughal empire, and the life, times and assassination of Mahatma Gandhi”, Mr. Govindan said.

Mr. Govindan said the formation of the anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was the immediate provocation for the BJP’s move to supplant India with Bharat in school textbooks, official communication and public fora.

He said the Centre had suspiciously flip-flopped on its recent commitment to the Supreme Court that no circumstance warranted changing India’s official name to Bharat.

The CPI(M) and Congress in Kerala also found themselves on the same side of the India-Bharat debate.

On Wednesday, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member K.C. Venugopal objected to rejecting India for Bharat in school textbooks.

“For Congress, both names carry equal weight. However, one should not be at the cost of the other. The BJP is attempting to distort India’s history to suit its political ends”, he said.

The CPI(M) has also found a common cause with the Congress and the DMK governments in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Both administrations have objected to the NCERT proposal. (Education is a subject in the concurrent list, allowing States to accept or reject NCERT proposals.)

C. I. Isaac, a retired history teacher and Padma Shri awardee who heads the NCERT panel for curriculum change, told a news channel in Dubai that it had not rejected the name India.

“Instead, the panel has proposed to make it statutory to teach Bharath in school curriculum. It is to instil self-respect in students and not to compel them to stop using the term India when referring to the country. The panel has also proposed displaying a framed copy of the constitution preamble in classrooms prominently”, Mr. Isaac said.

Meanwhile, the BJP in Kerala has encouraged the use of Bharat because it was “an emphatic rejection of the country’s colonial past”. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had recently urged citizens to use Bharat instead of India.

Nagpur:

Hinduism respects all sects and India has never seen strifes on issues like the one that has led to the ongoing Hamas-Israel war, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has said.

He was speaking at a programme organised at a school here on Saturday to mark 350 years of the coronation of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

“In this country, there is a religion, culture that respects all sects and faiths. That religion in Hinduism. This is a country of Hindus. That does not mean we reject all other (religions). Once you say Hindu, it is not needed to be told that Muslims too were protected. Only Hindus do this. Only India does this. Others have not done this,” Bhagwat said.

“Everywhere else, strifes are underway. You must have heard of the war in Ukraine, Hamas-Israel war. In our country, there were never wars on such issues. The invasion during Shivaji Maharaj’s time was of that kind. But we never fought of battles on this issue with anybody. That is why we are Hindus,” the RSS chief told the audience.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Nagpur:

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said that discrimination exists in our society, and reservations should continue as long as inequality persists.

Speaking at an event in agpur, he also said the ‘Akhand Bharat’ or undivided India will become a reality before today’s youngsters become old, as those who separated from India in 1947 are now feeling that they made a mistake.

Incidentally, Mr Bhagwat’s statement on reservations came at a time when the Maratha community’s agitation for a quota has once again intensified.

“We kept our own fellow human beings behind in the social system. We did not care for them, and it continued for 2000 years. Until we provide them equality, some special remedies have to be there, and reservations is one of them. Hence, reservations have to continue till there is such discrimination. We at the RSS give all support to the reservations provided in the Constitution,” he said.

Discrimination exists in society even though we may not see it, he noted.

Reservations are about “giving respect” and not just about ensuring financial or political equality, the RSS chief further said.

If the sections of society which faced discrimination suffered for 2000 years, “why cannot we (those who did not face discrimination) accept some trouble for 200 more years,” he added.

Replying to a question by a student, Mohan Bhagwat said he can not tell exactly when the Akhand Bharat will come into existence.

“But if you go on working for it, you will see it materialise before you get old. Because the conditions are becoming such that those who separated from India feel that they made a mistake. They feel that we should have been India again. They think that for becoming India they need to erase the lines on the map. But it is not so. Being India is accepting the nature (“swabhav”) of India,” the RSS chief said.

To a question about the claims that the RSS did not hoist the national flag at its headquarters in Mahal area here from 1950 till 2002, Bhagwat said, “Every year on August 15 and January 26 we hoist the national flag, wherever we are. There is flag-hoisting at both our campuses in Mahal and Reshimbagh in Nagpur. People should not ask this question to us.” He then recalled an incident during the Congress’s Tejpur convention near Jalgaon in 1933 when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the national flag on an 80-feet pole.

The flag got stuck midway in front of a crowd of about 10,000, but a youth came forward, climbed the pole and freed it, he said.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru asked the youth to be present at the convention the next day for felicitation, but it did not happen because some people told him that the youth attended an RSS ‘shakha’ (daily assembly), Mr Bhagwat claimed.

When (RSS founder) Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar learnt this, he visited the youth’s house and praised him, the RSS chief said.

The youth’s name was Kishan Singh Rajput, he added.

“The RSS has been associated with the honour of the national flag from the very first time it faced a problem. We also hoist the national flag on these two days (August 15 and January 26)….But whether it is hoisted or not, when it comes to the honour of the national flag, our swayamsevak (RSS volunteer) has been in the forefront and ready to give his life,” Mr Bhagwat said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on June 20 laid importance on organic- and ancient methods of farming and said it would be wrong to reject such local knowledge as unscientific without examining them.

He was speaking at the annual ‘Convocation-cum-Scientific Convention’ jointly organised by National Academy of Veterinary Sciences (India), New Delhi and Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University, Nagpur.

Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala, who was the guest of honour, was bestowed honorary fellowship along with Mr. Bhagwat and State Minister Sunil Kedar at the event.

India’s farming and animal husbandry methods are the oldest, Mr. Bhagwat said, adding that modern science has side effects but our ancient knowledge and methods do not have side effects. “Focus must be on flexibility in research and use of local knowledge. It is wrong to reject local knowledge by terming it unscientific. You can reject it after examining it, you are free to reject it if it is not right,” he said at the event.

“Secondly, mechanised farming would not last long. Even today, 65% farmers cultivate on small land holdings and mechanised farming is not very beneficial for them. Because of fertilizers etc, he [farmer] falls into debt and then commits suicide. He should be taught sustainable agriculture which he can understand,” the RSS chief said.

He stressed on “Bharat centric” method of farming, which can increase our GDP, adding that the country was the number one economy in the world till 1700 AD. “We had agrarian economy that time and industry and commerce were also related to agriculture. We will need to have Bharat centric approach to achieve this [increasing GDP],” he said.

The RSS chief said there was need for public partnerships for sustainability as the government was not rich enough to provide funds for all departments. He also spoke on the “language block” being faced by farmers, stating that most information on animal husbandry was in English.

“The new education policy has included the use of local language in technical subjects. We need to spread this knowledge in local languages,” Mr. Bhagwat said.