Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said that the Sangh was not formed to destroy anyone and that it wants to ‘organise’ the entire society. He also said that we have to teach the world how to handle diversity because the world does not have the system that India has.
Addressing prominent entrepreneurs of Rajasthan at Constitution Club in Jaipur as part of Sangh’s ‘100 Years of Sangh Yatra Series’ on the occasion of its centenary year, Bhagwat said, “The Sangh was not formed to destroy anyone. In India, our identity is Hindu. The word Hindu unifies everyone. Our nation is united by culture, not by state. Earlier, when there were many states, we were still one country; even when we were under foreign rule, we were one country,” he said, adding that a healthy state of society is defined by “samaj ka sangathan (organised/unity in society).”
He said one should not form an opinion about Sangh without experiencing it directly, and that one should join the Sangh and visit the shakhas, and do the activity one finds suitable. “The Sangh wants to organise the entire society. The entire society should become a sangh, that is, everyone should live for the country with authenticity and selflessness,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
He said that the programmes marking the completion of the Sangh’s 100-year journey are not a “celebration,” but rather a vision for the future and expansion of its work. He added that making the nation prosperous and a world leader is beyond the power of any one individual, and that leaders, slogans, policies, parties, governments, ideas, great men, incarnations and organisations like the Sangh can be helpful, but they cannot be the root cause. “This is everyone’s job, and everyone must be taken along for this,” he said.
On RSS, he said that it was not founded on a single issue and that RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar felt it was necessary to eradicate the evils that had been festering in society for 1,500 years. “He realised that without organising the entire Hindu society, India would not be free from this chronic disease. Therefore, after a decade of thought and experimentation, he founded the RSS,” Bhagwat said. The Sangh works to build individuals. It organises and prepares volunteers, and the volunteers do the rest, he said.
While discussing the next phase of Sangh’s work, Bhagwat said that Sangh’s future task is that the entire society should live in the interest of the country, and that it should unite and do its work in its own way, so that we all complement each other rather than hinder each other.
“The noble power of the society should be awakened, an environment of social harmony should be created and temples, water and cremation grounds should be open for all. All the family members should come together at least once a week and have their meals and worship according to their language and tradition. We should also come forward for environmental conservation works like saving water, planting trees and removing plastic. The sense of self and the feeling of Swadeshi should be awakened in everyone’s mind and the country should become self-reliant. We should be vigilant towards civic duties and civic discipline and follow the rules, laws and the Constitution,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
Bhagwat is on a four-day visit to Rajasthan where he is taking part in various programmes and meetings.
