We Must Be Prepared Against China Says RSS Chief Bhagwat
NEW DELHI ; Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat called for India to grow bigger than China in terms of “power and scope” today, at the organisation’s key Vijayadashami celebrations. “We intend to be friendly with all.
“China’s role in the breakout of this pandemic may be disputable but its misuse of their riches by unleashing terror on the borders of Bharat and boisterous efforts to invade our territories are well known to the whole world,” Mr Bhagwat had said at the function this morning.
“Even in the past, the world has time and again witnessed China’s expansionist attitude. Rising above China economically, strategically, in securing cooperative ties with our neighbors and at international relations is the only way to neutralise those demonic aspirations,” Mr Bhagwat added.
Transgressions by soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army(PLA) at Ladakh’s Pangong Lake and several other areas, have taken place early this year.
On 15 June, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the line of duty in Galwan Valley — a first in more than four decades. Talks to restore the status quo ante at the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border between the two nations, have remained inconclusive so far.
Over the last months, Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have directed frequent barbs at PM Narendra Modi and his government, demanding that the real situation at the Line of Actual Control be revealed to the nation.
His remarks unleashed huge opposition criticism. “Deep inside, Mr Bhagwat knows the truth. He is just scared to face it. The truth is China has taken our land and GOI & RSS have allowed it,” Congress’s Rahul Gandhi tweeted, slamming the RSS which is the ideological mentor of the BJP.
“The Chinese have taken our land. When exactly is GOI planning to get it back? Or is that also going to be left to an ‘Act of God’?” Mr Gandhi had tweeted earlier. “How can they say there is no incursion and nothing has happened when our army is having a stand-off? We have to raise these issues,” he had said on another occasion,
Bhagwat said this is our nature,” adding, “mistaking our benevolence for weakness and attempts to disintegrate or weaken us by sheer brute force is unacceptable… if push comes to shove, we will not fall short of alertness, firmness and readiness.”
RSS chief also dubbed China as “expansionist” and said that India needed to be militarily better prepared against the neighbouring nation. He urged the government to forge an alliance against China with its immediate neighbours like Nepal, Sri Lanka and others.
“Indian defence forces, government and the people remained unfazed and responded sharply to China’s boisterous efforts to invade our territories,” Bhagwat said.
Bhagwat said that the country saw many developments this year, but Covid-19 overshadowed everything. “We witnessed anti-CAA protests which created tension in the country. Before it could be discussed further, the focus shifted on Corona this year.
He said that using CAA, opportunists unleashed organised violence in the name of protests.“CAA does not oppose any particular religious community. But those who wanted to oppose this new law misled our Muslim brothers by propagating a false notion that it was aimed at restricting the Muslim population.
He said “In 2019, Article 370 became ineffective, then the Supreme Court gave Ayodhya verdict on November 9. Entire nation accepted the verdict. On August 5, 2020, the groundbreaking ceremony of Ram temple was held. We witnessed patience and sensibility of Indians during these events,” Bhagwat said during his annual Dussehra address at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, as reported by news agency ANI.
Due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, only 50 volunteers were allowed inside the Maharshi Vyas auditorium. Bhagwat also performed Shastra Puja, the Hindu tradition in which arms are worshipped annually during Dussehra. RSS marks Vijay Dashmi as one of its biggest events when the Sangh chief addresses the workers on a number of issues concerning politics, society, national security and family values.
Bhagwat claimed that ‘Hindutva’ as an “expression of our identity” was applicable to 1.3 billion people living in the country.”Hindutva is a word expressing our identity along with the continuity of spirituality-based traditions and an entire wealth of value system in the land of Bharat.
The RSS chief said that the Hindu culture had expressed itself in diverse forms, but some groups were trying to spread hatred and aggression in certain sections of society by creating a sense of insecurity among them on the pretext that the country’s diversity would be finished if they identified themselves as “Hindu” .
“Acknowledgement of the fact that the emotional spirit of India, its acceptance of and support for multiple belief systems and faiths, is a byproduct of the Hindu culture, traditions and Hindu thought is necessary,” Bhagwat asserted.
He also made a pitch for ‘Swadeshi’ during his speech. He said that the philosophy of ‘Swadeshi’ was in discussion once again. In view of the current Indian context, India needs to rebuild paths based on its time-tested values, he stated.
(Bureau Report with Agency Inputs).
