Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said India needs to grow bigger than China in terms of shakti and vypati (power and scope), adding the world knows that country’s expansionist designs.
Bhagwat was speaking at the RSS’s annual Vijayadashami rally, which this time was limited to an indoor event attended by 50 swayamsevaks (volunteers) due to COVID-19 guidelines.
Bhagwat said India needs to be militarily better prepared against China.
Many countries are now standing up to China, he said.
“China was shocked at India’s response to its intrusion. India needs to grow bigger in power and scope than China,” he said.
“China encroached on our borders amid the pandemic,” he said, adding the world knows the expansionist nature of that country. He cited Taiwan and Vietnam as examples of the Chinese expansion plans.
“We intend to be friendly with all. This is our nature. But mistaking our benevolence for weakness and attempts to disintegrate or weaken us by sheer brute force is unacceptable. Our detractors must know this by now,” he said.
Bhagwat said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is not against any particular religious community, adding “some people misled our Muslim brothers” claiming it was aimed at restricting their population.
Before the issue could be discussed further, the focus shifted on coronavirus, he said. “The communal flare in minds of a few people stayed in their minds only. Coronavirus overshadowed all other topics,” he added.
“We need not fear coronavirus, but should be alert and cautious. We cannot stop living. Coronavirus is spreading but fatalities are less. Due to the pandemic, we have started learning the importance of hygiene, cleanliness, environment, family values all over again,” he said.
“Coronavirus has given rise to challenges of unemployment. Many lost jobs and labourers are now returning to cities. But the jobs may not be there. The challenge is to create employment opportunities in different places,” he said.
Bhagwat said before the pandemic, several issues which were in the public discourse took a backseat.
“Article 370 was abrogated, the country accepted the Supreme Court verdict on Ram temple with patience and understanding,” he said.
“There was opposition to CAA claiming it was being used to check the Muslim population in the country. In fact, no Indian citizen was threatened due to CAA. Before any step could be taken to resolve the issue, the coronavirus pandemic happened,” he said.
Taking about Hindutav, the Bhagwat said that the RSS acknowledges the country as Hindu and Hindutva as the essence of this country’s self-hood.
“When Sangh says Hindusthan is Hindu Rashtra it does not have any political or power centred concept in its mind. Hindutva is the essence of this Rashtra’s ‘swa'(self-hood). We are plainly acknowledging the self-hood of the country as Hindu,” Bhagwat said.
“The ‘swa’ or ‘self’ in ‘Swadeshi’ refers to the same Hindutva. That spirit or ‘swa’ should be the compass directing our intellectual brainstorming and plans of action,” he added.
Bhagwat said that the ‘Hindutva’ word is applicable to all the 1.3 billion people of the country.
“Hindutva is the word expressing our identity along with the continuity of its spirituality based traditions and its entire wealth of value system in the land of Bharat. Therefore this word is applicable to all the 1.3 billion people,” Bhagwat said.
“Hindu is not the name of some sect or denomination, not a provincial conceptualisation, neither a single caste’s lineage nor the privilege of speakers of a specific language. It is a common denominator that honours and encompasses innumerable distinct identities,” he added.
Bhagwat said that some groups are trying to spread hatred and aggression in sections of society by “creating insecurity among them, stating that diversity will be finished if they identify themselves as “Hindu”.
“Hindu culture has expressed itself in diverse forms. Acknowledgement of the fact that the emotional spirit of Bharat, its acceptance for and support to multiple belief systems and faiths, is a byproduct of the Hindu culture, traditions and Hindu thought. If we work to raise the general level of consciousness of a common man and nurture his intrinsic spirit of oneness with Hindutva as the guiding force, then in the near future Bharatvarsh will emerge as the torchbearer for the rest of the world,” he added.
With inputs from ANI