Bhagwat Asks RSS Volunteers to Keep “Cool” in the face of “Provocations” in run up to 2024 Elections

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Oct 24: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday asked his volunteers to keep their cool in the face of provocations during the coming Parliamentary elections in the country leaving it to the voters to choose the “available best.”

In his last customary Vijayadashmi address before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, the Sarsanghchalak told the Sangh activists that debates were about to get “abusive” and needless issues might come up but they should keep their “cool.” “Never get provoked. Voters have by now seen everyone, they will choose the available best,” he said, calling for “a feeling of oneness towards the entire country.”

He also referred to the situation in Manipur and expressed the apprehension that extremists from across the border could be involved in the on-going violence. “For many years, Meitei and Kuki communities have been living together. How did the violence erupt all of a sudden? The conflict benefits external forces. Are external factors involved,” Mr Bhagwat asked.

“Union Home Minister Amit Shah was there for three days. Who actually fuelled the conflict? It (violence) is not happening, it is being made to happen,” Mr Bhagwat said. “The RSS chief said he was proud of the Sangh workers who worked in Manipur to restore peace. Some anti-social people call themselves cultural Marxists or woke but they have forgotten Marx,” he said.

Bhagwat lauded the government over its organisation of the G20 Summit and asked RSS workers to organise programmes to mark the Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration, while advising against “divisiveness” of caste or community.

Like in his previous speeches at the event, Bhagwat made specific mention of many historical figures from all parts of India and their contribution, and emphasised the need to internalise the country’s “timeless values”, focus on efforts for unity and “avoid commentary.” “The basis of our unity over millennia is our all-inclusive culture, with no sense of the Other… Truth, compassion, diligent effort and purity are our culture. This was the culture of Akhand Bharat,” he said.

He indirectly referred to the Hindu- Muslim unity and said the concept of “Akhand Bharat” applied to all castes and communities in India including those “who may have come in the wake of invasions to this all-inclusive society”. “Our modes of worship may be different… But we have actually been one from time immemorial,” he said.

Bhagwat added: “Always mind your tongue. Once you are strong, speak the language of friendship with everyone… I am not pointing in any one direction. Build a strong society that cooperates with the government and administration… All sorts of provocative things are said, but one has to move forward with a calm mind.”

“Victimhood isn’t a good idea,” he added. “Everyone wants progress, there is competition… There are no victims. Politics may be competitive, but social unity has to be achieved by us outside its ambit.” Bhagwat cautioned that “some people both abroad and in the country” do not want India to move forward.

“They are playing one section of society against another. When India rises, they will automatically come under control… They dislike any genuine person – be it a Sangh person or a Communist. They are cultural Marxists, or wokes. They know what Marx said won’t happen, but use it to oppose harmony.”

Going on to express concern over the violence in Manipur, he mentioned the government’s efforts to contain it, including through visits of Union ministers. “Why are the Meitis and Kukis, who have lived together for long, in so much conflict… It is a border region. Who gains from this? Were there any outside forces? There is a strong government. The Home Minister visited the state. Yet, whenever things calm down, some tragedy happens… Who are these people? It is being fuelled,” he said.

As the Modi government makes the successful hosting of the G20 Summit, including events across the year and throughout the country, a key plank in the coming elections, Bhagwat said the G20 had established India’s standing.

“Our reputation is rising. The world saw our harmony and positive energy. The African Union was inducted in the G20 nations. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and women’s empowerment were talked about. India’s distinctive place in the world is now a reality,” he said, in line with what he said last year about India’s “resurgence” and “growing international acclaim”.

“Our nation is progressing in every field,” he said, mentioning advances in digital technology, the mushrooming start-ups, India becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, and the performance at the recent Asian Games. The RSS chief said the world was looking towards India to solve its problems, including ecological challenges in the Himalayas, and added the country could teach the West the way to unity in diversity, instead of a misplaced goal of “uniformity.”

Talking about the Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration, scheduled for January next year, Bhagwat said: “Our Lord Ram, whose picture also adorns our Constitution, will enter his temple in Ayodhya on January 22. We won’t be able to attend the ceremony because of security reasons. We will go some other time. But in our temples, we can build an atmosphere of religiosity and oneness in the whole nation. We can do this by organising small programmes.”