Updated: October 26, 2020 8:10:48 am
Bhagwat said this in an interview with the pro-RSS weekly Vivek. (File photo)
India’s response to the “invasions” in Ladakh had “numbed and shaken” China, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday, calling for stronger ties with other neighbors to launch a counterattack. more powerful to the Chinese.
In his speech to a small gathering of swayamsevaks at the RSS annual Vijayadashami event that was curtailed by restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic this year, Bhagwat supported the central government on all three controversial farm laws and practically backed the Chief. from Uttar Pradesh. Minister Yogi Adityanath’s theory of an “international conspiracy” against the state government, though he did not directly mention either the new laws or the Hathras incident, which sparked powerful protests.
“China is uncertainly mentioned (“ asandigdha ”) in the speech on the coronavirus pandemic. An arrogant and expansionist China invaded our territory. He is behaving in a similar way with the whole world. But Bharat’s reaction stunned them, shook them. Our soldiers gave them a brave response and we all stood together as patriots. Because of this, other countries have also started scolding China, ”said Bhagwat.
“This has created a situation that China had not thought of. It is not clear how he will react now. Then we will have to always be alert and prepared, ”he said.
Bhagwat added: “We will have to improve our strategic readiness, economic power and international relations and outgrow China in power and scope (‘vyapti’) in our relationship with neighbors …
“We must foster ties with neighboring countries like Brahmadesh (Myanmar), Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, which have been countries very much like us for thousands of years. We must quickly connect with them. Differences and disputes will always be there, but we will have to try to resolve them soon. “
The incident in Ladakh “was the first time that China experienced the union of patriotism and the courage of Indian soldiers, the self-respecting policies of the current leadership of Bharat and the unity displayed by its people.” said the head of RSS. “We will have to keep increasing this power.”
The opposition parties and the “tukde-tukde gang” were “trying to divide and weaken Indian society by creating social conflict,” Bhagwat said. “There are such powers in the world and their agents (‘hastak’) in India, who paint the diversity of India as divisions and incite struggle,” he said.
“If an isolated incident occurs… it shouldn’t happen. Why should there be any incidents of atrocity and discrimination? But if an isolated incident occurs in such a large country, the administration should immediately catch the culprits and punish them as soon as possible. But when reacting as a society, we must bear in mind that it does not affect national integration, and (the reactions) must be expressed within the limits of the constitutional and legal framework ”.
However, Bhagwat said, “There are people in our country who pretend to have faith in the Constitution and the law, but are seen committing acts of violence. They are also seen raising slogans to divide the country (“desh ke tukde karne ki ghoshnayein”). They try to break society while trying to pose as its saviors. “
Bhagwat compared “these people” to “those described by Babasaheb Ambedkar in his delineation of the grammar of anarchy in his speeches while giving the country its Constitution.”
“We will have to protect ourselves from its design,” said the RSS chief.
Bhagwat also blamed “these people” for spreading misconceptions about the Hindutva RSS idea.
“We use the word Hindu for the 130 million people of India. We do not use it in the limited sense of worship or dietary practices (“puja aur khaanpaan”). It is in the sense of the identity of the country in terms of the continuity of its traditions based on spiritualism with all its values. So all those who regard this nation and its eternal cultural values as their own, and respect its ancient tradition (“poorvaj parampara”) are Hindus. “
An attack on this concept “loosens the common rope that binds us together,” Bhagwat said. “So those who try to divide us start by criticizing the word ‘Hindu.’ They try to spread that we are not Hindus. They describe the diversity of India in terms of separation. They call differences, separateness. They make it a source of separatism. “
Apparently referring to non-Hindus, Bhagwat said: “If we call them Hindus or call themselves Hindus, they lose nothing except the fundamentalist belief (‘kattarpanthi’) that theirs is the only higher faith. You just have to give up fundamentalism and the sense of separatism that you are different. We have to protect ourselves from people who want to divide the country, like the tukde-tukde gang. We must advise emotional integration as Indians ”.
The RSS chief called for the adoption of Swadeshi as a way to achieve prosperity and strength. “Swadeshi is not just about producing within the country with our own hands and with the economic gains that remain within the country. The thinking behind such a production should be ours (swa-adharit). “The late Dattopant Thengdi, founder of the RSS labor group Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, had defined Swadeshi as” a situation of international cooperation based on equality, “Bhagwat said. “We are open to foreign investors and provide relaxation to companies offering newer technologies, provided they commit to our mutually acceptable terms and conditions. But that decision must be based on mutual consensus.”
Bhagwat expressed satisfaction that as a result of the reforms in the agricultural sector, farmers could sell their products anywhere in the country.
He called for promoting ancient Indian agricultural practices and organic farming by combining them with modern agricultural practices. “When designing our agricultural policy, we must empower our farmer to control his seed banks, create manure, fertilizers and pesticides on his own, or obtain them from areas neighboring his village. They must be educated on the art of storing and processing their products and have access to such facilities, ”said Bhagwat.
“Policies should be such that a farmer can use these research findings and sell his production without getting caught, either in profit-seeking interpretations of those findings, or in corporate-sponsored research, or under pressure. of market forces and intermediaries. Only then will such a policy be compatible with Bharatiya’s vision and will it be a true Swadeshi agrarian policy. “
Bhagwat welcomed the new education policy of the Narendra Modi government. “A new educational policy has been declared and launched, formed on the basis of extensive deliberations and dialogues. But for these initiatives to be successfully implemented, the process will have to be carefully watched and monitored until the end, ”he said.
“Fortunately, we can trust and hope that the prevailing political leadership will generate a feeling of unity and trust regarding issues small and large among all people. An administrative system that connects society with the government must be more sensitive and transparent to facilitate and perform this task in a better way ”.
On the Covid-19 pandemic, Bhagwat said: “We must not fear the coronavirus, but we must be vigilant and cautious. We cannot stop living. The coronavirus is spreading but deaths are lower. Due to the pandemic, we have begun to learn again the importance of hygiene, cleanliness, the environment and family values ”.
The pandemic, Bhagwat said, “has led to unemployment challenges. Many lost their jobs and workers are now returning to the cities. But the jobs may not be there. The challenge is to create job opportunities in different places and train those who will replace those who have returned to their villages ”.
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