Vijaydashami speech: Bhagwat lauds Op Sindoor, says no substitute for swadeshi
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said India maintains friendly ties with others, but needs to be careful and capable of self-defence
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday lauded the government and the armed forces for a befitting reply to terror operatives across the border, who orchestrated the April 22 Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead. He said India maintains friendly ties with others, but needs to be careful and capable of self-defence, while expressing concern over the unrest in the neighbourhood.
“The government and armed forces gave a befitting reply [to the Pahalgam attack]. It also showed the leadership’s decisiveness and the war readiness of the forces,” he said in his annual Vijaydashami address.
Bhagwat said the 26 killed in the attack were asked about their religion. He referred to the Operation Sindoor launched in retaliation to the attack and said the response from other countries showed us who India’s friends are. “We also realised who our friends are and where they are. But even in the country, there are many attempts to create unrest...,” he said, referring to the government’s crackdown on terrorists, Maoists, and those who opt for unconstitutional means.
India hit at least nine locations across the border as part of Operation Sindoor and launched a diplomatic offensive against Pakistan-backed terrorism, sending lawmakers across parties across the world to raise awareness about it. The RSS, the ideological fount of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has always advocated a muscular foreign policy and stringent internal security measures.
Bhagwat praised the government’s action against terror groups. He called for people-centric policies to prevent people from getting pushed towards those opting for unconstitutional and violent means. “The extremist Naxalist [Maoist] movement has been largely brought under control by the firm actions of the government and the realisation among people about the hollowness of their ideology and cruelty. A comprehensive action plan is required to ensure justice, development, goodwill, empathy, and harmony in these regions,” Bhagwat said. He said there is a need for development and social justice, and society will have to do its bit as well.
Bhagwat spoke about the unrest in India’s neighbourhood and regime change in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. He said when the administration is not close to the people, not sensitive to what they want, and policies are not in keeping with their demands, unrest is stoked. “The regime change in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and, more recently, Nepal due to violent outbursts of public anger is a concern for us. The forces wanting to create such disturbances in Bharat are active inside as well as outside our country…” he said.
He cautioned against violence. “…unrest and unease should not be expressed in such a way…It is not in anybody’s interests.”
He backed self-reliance and swadeshi, which are part of the Sangh ideology and agenda, referring to the US tariffs and how the decision has adversely impacted businesses. “The new tariff policy adopted by the United States of America is for their own benefit, but it is affecting everybody. ..No country can live in isolation, but dependence should not turn into a compulsion,” he said as the government has focused on self-reliance.
“By becoming self-reliant and being cognisant of global unity, we must ensure that dependence does not become a compulsion for us, and we can act according to our own will. There is no substitute to swadeshi and swavalamban [self-dependence],” he said.
