'Being Hindu means being responsible for Bharat': RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Bengaluru event

Bengaluru: Bharat is a “Hindu Rashtra” where “Hindus are responsible” for the nation, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat said on Saturday, even as he underlined the need for harmony, which the national organisation wants to promote in its expansionist future.

Bhagwat was delivering a lecture here on the RSS, which is celebrating its centenary.

“Hindus are responsible for Bharat. What’s our country? It’s not the British who gave us nationhood. We’re an ancient nationhood,” Bhagwat said. “We have a core culture and whatever description used for it leads to the word Hindu,” he said.

“Muslims and Christians are also descendants of the same ancestors. They either don’t know this or are made to forget it,” Bhagwat said.

“I find Christians and Muslims who have preserved their gotras. So, nobody is Ahindu. Being Hindu means being responsible for Bharat. That’s why Bharat is a Hindu Rashtra. It’s not contradictory with anything we’re doing today or any system,” Bhagwat argued.

Bhagwat claimed more and more people now believed in the RSS, which he said is working to “organise the Hindu society” through “man-making”.

“We’re now in a state where there’s some credibility. Everybody loves us and is ready to help us,” Bhagwat said. He stressed that the RSS has “not taken a single pie from outside” for its functioning, essentially countering Congress’ Priyank Kharge who has accused the organisation of receiving foreign donations.

Going forward, Bhagwat said the RSS should reach “every diversity” and “all 142 crore” people. “We have plans to extend our work to all geographical units in our country - every layer and strata in society,” he said. “We’ve started our dialogue with those who don’t consider themselves Hindu. But they agree they’re Bharatiyas. They agree they are Hindavi or Indic people,” he said.

Bhagwat said harmony “is much needed”. The RSS wants to hold its Sadbhavana meetings at the block level with caste leaders and heads of various religious sects. “Society must have an atmosphere of mutual goodwill, harmony and positivity,” he said.

A global outreach of the RSS will start from India’s neighbourhood, Bhagwat said. “Most of our neighboring countries were Bharat 100 years ago. They’re our people. Even in today’s conditions, there are similarities,” Bhagwat said.

Earlier in the lecture, Bhagwat said discussions on the RSS are largely based on “hearsay, narratives and perceptions”.

“The Sangh has been described as a reaction or opposition to certain situations. That’s not the case. Sangh is there to fulfill the compulsory need of every society: organisation,” Bhagwat said. “We know our task is still incomplete. There’s miles and miles to go. We’re at it.”

Bhagwat called upon citizens to join hands with the RSS. “If you don’t want to, it’s alright. If you’re doing good deeds for society and humanity, then you’re a part of our work,” he said. “The Sangh doesn’t expect you to wear our uniform.”