India never favours war, violence, says Rajnath Singh

The Minister explained the circumstances that led to the Battle of Mahabharata

India does not trouble other countries, but if others trouble India, it does not spare them, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said here on Saturday.

“Bharat has always been a peaceful country. Violence is not in our nature. So we have not attacked or occupied other land. But the world has to understand that suffering an injustice is also not part of our history,” Singh said, speaking at the Gita Dana Yajna Mahotsava organised by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) on Saturday.

Iskcon celebrates the month of December as Gita Dana Yajna, during which it distributes one lakh Gita books.

Singh said that the country’s youth should adopt Bhagavad Gita in their lifestyle. “Gita is not just a religious book, it’s a source of inspiration for all, especially the youth. Western countries have self-help books that help readers. If we adopt Gita, we won’t need any self-help book.”

He added that India has always been a centre of learning and that Gita has changed the lives of many prominent people across the globe.

Gita is a blend of science and spirituality to uplift humankind, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said at the event. “Aatmanirbharata comes from self-confidence. India now produces 60 per cent of its ammunition. Shortly we will be among the top five exporters in ammunition,” Bommai said.

Former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya and Vijayanagar MLA M Krishnappa were also present.

The event began after the dignitaries visited the four shrines in the ISKCON temple complex at Vasanthapura.

Singh launched the Yajna by presenting Gita books to poet-playwright Chandrashekar Kambar, IT industry veteran T V Mohandas Pai, Isro Chairman S Somanath, British Deputy High Commissioner to Karnataka and Kerala Chandru Iyer, Consul General of Canada in Chandigarh Patrick Hebert, actress Sapthami Gowda, vocalists S Aishwarya and S Saundarya who are granddaughters of singer M S Subbulakshmi, and Gayathri Reddy, member of Global Shapers Community which is the youth wing of World Economic Forum.

Singh also launched the online version of the Bhagavad Gita on Iskcon’s YouTube page.