Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 12: Cautioning India about the forces which are at work to divide the country on the basis of caste, creed, religion, language, region etc, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday asked the Hindus to remain united to safeguard the nation against the divisive forces.
Addressing the annual Vijaya Dashami rally of the RSS workers at the Sangh headquarter in Nagpur, Mr Bhagwat said efforts are being made in a way that the society remained entangled in petty selfishness so that it cannot get the sense of crisis which is looming over their heads until it is too late.
Speaking about the forces which are at work to divide India, the RSS Chief said, “Due to this, today Punjab, Jammu-Kashmir, Ladakh on the north-western border of the country; Kerala, Tamil Nadu on the sea border; and the entire Purvanchal from Bihar to Manipur is disturbed,” he said.
Asking the Hindus to remain strong, he warned that even Gods did not help the weak, “Even Gods punish the weak. Remember one thing, neither horse nor elephant and never the tiger, but only a goat is sacrificed in Yagna. Why, because horse will kick, elephant is too big and tiger will hurt. But a goat can do nothing to resist the death,” Mr Bhagwat said.
The RSS chief further said the Hindu society has a greater role in making India a happy, peaceful, prosperous and strong nation. “This is why, we need to have an alert society which put collective efforts for growth. When the society wakes up on its own, writes its destiny with its own efforts, then great men, organizations, institutions, administration, government etc. all come for help,” Mr Bhagwat said.
Praising the contributions of the Narendra Modi government for developing India, the RSS chief said India has become stronger and more respected in the world with enhanced credibility in the last few years but sinister conspiracies are testing the country’s resolve. He said a narrative was being spread in Bangladesh that India was a threat and that they should join hands with Pakistan as a defence. Mr Bhagwat said firmness of personal and national character becomes the foundation of strength for the victory of auspiciousness and righteousness, whether the situation was favourable or not.
RSS chief also urged people to not to hold an entire community responsible if one person does something bad. “If anyone else does it, then too we must act with restraint,” he said. Quoting Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s thoughts on ‘Grammar of Anarchy’, Mr Bhagwat said the stone pelting incident was an example of the same.
“Yes it is the job of the administration to prevent such incidents from happening and to control and punish the culprits, but what are we supposed to do before administration arrives? The society has to protect itself and its property along with the lives of the loved ones,” he added.
Coming down heavily on certain political parties which are keeping country ‘behind’ their selfish interests, Mr Bhagwat said there was competition among parties to gain power and for them that was more important than harmony of the nation. “….if the harmony of society and the pride and integrity of the nation are considered secondary in the competition among parties, then in such party politics, their modus operandi is to stand in support of one party and advance their destructive agenda in the name of ‘Alternative Politics’,” RSS Chief said.
Referring to the situation of Hindus in Bangladesh, Mr Bhagwat said as long as this “tyrannical fundamentalist nature” existed there, the sword of danger will hang over the heads of all the minority communities including the Hindus. He maintained that Hindu community across the world should learn the lesson that being unorganised and weak was like inviting atrocities by the wicked.
Dismissing the perception that Bangladesh sought ‘nuclear-powered’ Pakistan’s help to contain the ‘threat from India,” Mr Bhagwat recalled that Bangladesh was formed and built due to the help of India. “India that never had any animosity with this neighbour,” he said. RSS chief also cautioned people how the forces outside are working overtime to destabilise India, just like Bangladesh.
“Words like ‘Deep State’, ‘Wokeism’, ‘Cultural Marxist’ are enemies of all cultural traditions. Their modus operandi is first to bring educational institutions under their influence. They then try to destroy the thoughts, values and belief of the society. They then artificially create problems and inbuilt a feeling of victimhood in people. Then, they fanning discontent, they make people aggressive, create atmosphere of anarchy and instil fear and hatred towards the system, laws, governance in people. This makes it easy to establish one’s dominance over that country,” Mr Bhagwat said adding that same happened in Bangladesh.
Mr Bhagwat also shared how the Indian society can remain united which could be done by participation of all sections in places of public use and worship such as temples, drinking water, crematoriums. He also extended his support to reservation and said people should understand the needs of weaker sections of society which arise from to the circumstances they face.
“Just as the strong members of a family make more provisions for the weaker members, sometimes even at the cost of their own loss, similarly such needs should be considered with the feeling of belongingness to each other,” he added. He also asked Hindus to celebrate all festivals alike and not leave Valmiki Jayanti to be celebrated only by Valmiki caste and Ravidas Jayanti by Dalits.
In his speech, RSS chief also cautioned people on usage of mobile phones and the content being watched by over it, especially by youths and children. He also said there was an urgent need for legal monitoring over advertisements and perverted visual content in our homes and society as mobile addiction was spreading like wildfire among the young generation and was also hollowing the society from within, he added.
“Everyone feels Bharat has become stronger and more respected in the world with enhanced credibility in the last few years. A country becomes great due to the national character of its people. This year is important as RSS steps into its centenary year,” he said.
But he said, besides hopes and aspirations, challenges and problems also exist in India. “We should draw inspiration from personalities like Ahilyabai Holkar, Dayananda Saraswati, Birsa Munda and many more who devoted their lives to the count’s welfare, dharma, culture and society,” the RSS chief said.