Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat during his politically loaded Vijayadashmi speech in Nagpur on Thursday spoke on varied topics, starting from repeatedly invoking the ‘merciless campaign’ of Mughal emperor Babar to the dangers of ‘Urban Maoism’. The RSS supremo painted a rather interesting picture on a large canvas of issues.
In the speech that lasted almost 90 minutes, Bhagwat mentioned Ram more than a dozen times, invoked Babur six times and spoke at length about the need to ramp up India’s internal and border security forces.
News18 has compiled a bunch of keywords that Bhagwat used in his speech, considered to be a policy document for the Sangh cadre, delivered just before crucial assembly polls in five states and the generals polls scheduled next year.
Ram- 15 times
The most important part of his speech came in the later half when he said that the Centre should bring a law to build Ram Mandir. He went on to explain how natural a demand it is for Indians to demand for the temple.
The RSS chief made this demand at a time when influential Hindu priests in and around Ayodhya have put the government on notice on Ram Temple issue.
Gandhi and Babur- 6 times each
He eulogised the adaptability of Indian culture saying it has made political experiments successful. “Only India can make Mahatma Gandhi’s experiment on truth and spirituality successful,” he said.
Dubbing Babur as the destroyer of Ram Temple, the RSS Chief said the title dispute case is getting delayed. “Babur demolished Ram Mandir to trounce our self-respect,” he says. “Foundations of the temple have been unearthed, but the case is getting delayed,” the RSS chief said.
“A horrific, merciless campaign began long time ago in the shape of Babur’s invasion. He spared neither Muslims nor the Hindus of the country and under his campaign the society of India was flattened,” Bhagwat said during his annual address in Nagpur.
Sabarimala- 5 times
With Kerala on the boil over the entry of women into Sabarimla temple, RSS chief said that men and women were treated as equals there despite the protesters not allowing a single women of menstruating age to enter for the last four days. “We should have built consensus. The devotees should have been consulted,” he said.
Guru Nanak- 4 times
Bhagwat also invoked Guru Nanak and said, “This year is the 550th Prakash Parv of Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji. It is Shri Guru Nanak Deo ji’s legacy that gave the country a magnificent and majestic tradition of 10 gurus who removed our state of penury and inferiority.”
Urban Maoism- 9 times
Referring to the recent controversy over “Urban Maoists”, Mohan Bhagwat said Maoism has always been urban. The RSS chief questioned if social media campaigns against India are being fuelled from Pakistan or US. He also alleged that some forces are trying to get political mileage out of such campaigns.
He further said that armed uprisings have never succeeded, accusing that urban Maoists work from urban areas under the garb of intellectuals. “One writes a book, another publishes, third praises it, fourth researches further and so on a network of thousands of such people is created,” he said. He also said that they have been criticising the country irrespective of who is in power.
Ambedkar- 7 times
Talking of Ambedkar, the RSS Chief said that the constitution given to this country by Baba Ambedkar should be read thoroughly.
“Ambedkar said what we did to throw British out of country we shouldn’t continue doing anywhere, he considered also Satyagraha incorrect,” Bhagwat said.
He also expressed displeasure at the delay in the implementation of schemes for SC and ST.
RSS chief, hinting at the Rafale deal, said that India should not depend on anyone for its security. “We should produce whatever is needed to protect us,” he said. “We sell our farm produce to also have to those who sell us what is needed to protect us. We have to create conditions and move towards self-reliance,” he added.
Pakistan- 3 times
Taking a dig at Pakistan, RSS chief said that certain forces are antipathetic to India’s existence. Despite the new government there, the border skirmishes continue, he said.
“People living on border areas suffer during Pakistan bombings, losing cattle and farms. Yet the people are not ready to move away. Instead they want stronger forces for their safety,” Bhagwat said. He said that development in terms of schools, hospitals, etc need to be taken care of in these areas.
Talking about the freedom fighters and their role in strengthening the idea of India, Bhagwat said Subhash Chandra Bose went out of the country and awakened self-respect among Indian soldiers working abroad and founded independent India’s first government working in exile.
Last year, Bhagwat had spoken on issues like the Rohingya crisis, cow vigilantism, Jammu and Kashmir and surgical strikes.