India becoming self-reliant on national security front; its stand during Ukraine-Russia conflict shows we are being heard: RSS chief Bhagwat

Nagpur, October 5

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said the way India recently helped crisis-hit Sri Lanka and India’s stand during the Ukraine-Russia conflict showed the country was being heard and that it was becoming more and more self-reliant on the national security front.

Addressing the RSS Dussehra rally in Nagpur, Bhagwat said for a populous country like India, it is a natural expectation that economic and development policy making should be employment-oriented, but he also emphasised on encouraging enterprise-oriented actions.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during in his address on the inauguration of the newly christened ‘Kartavya Path’ (a stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate in Delhi) gave a description of modern India’s future based on economic, technological and cultural foundations.

“The government is to be commended for its clear enunciations. However, it is required that we all perform our responsibilities in word and deed in this direction,” he said.

“To advance on the ‘Atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) path, it is important to understand the fundamental tenets and ideas that define us as a nation,” Bhagwat said.

It is a necessary pre-condition that all these tenets are clearly absorbed and equally understood by the government, administration and society, he said.

 “The way we helped Sri Lanka, and our stand during the Ukraine-Russia conflict shows that we are being heard. We are becoming more and more self-reliant on national security front as well,” the RSS chief said.

He said India’s economy is returning to normalcy post-COVID-19 and world economists are predicting that it will grow further. “In sports also our players are making the country proud,” he noted.

For a country as populous as Bharat, it is a natural expectation that economic and development policy making should be employment-oriented. But employment does not mean simply jobs, “this prudence has to expand in our society,” Bhagwat said.

“No work is insignificant or non-prestigious; manual, financial and intellectual labour are all respectable – we have to recognize this and conduct ourselves accordingly. Enterprise-oriented actions have to be encouraged,” he said.

Setting up of decentralised employment training programmes in every district, employment opportunities in home districts, development programmes in villages as also education, health, ease of travel – these are common expectations from government, he said.

Bhagwat praised the government, but also asked the society to perform its responsibilities towards self-reliance.

The government is pursuing policies which lead towards self-reliance. “Bharat’s importance and stature has increased in the community of nations. In the sphere of security, we are becoming more and more self-sufficient,” he said.

“After negotiating through the calamity of corona, our economy is inching towards the pre-pandemic levels,” the RSS chief said.

He said it is a myth that English is important for a career.

 The New Education Policy should lead to students becoming highly cultured, good human beings who are also inspired by patriotism– this is everyone’s desire. Society needs to support this actively, Bhagwat said.

“We need to have a positive and welcoming attitude towards such changes. When Lokmanya Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi or (RSS founder) Dr Keshav Hedgewar completed their education, it was in the English medium and designed to suit the British raj; but the society and families were determined to get independence and thus they took a plunge in the freedom fight and led the country,” he said.

“Populations require resources. If it grows without building resources, it becomes a burden. There is another view in which population is considered an asset. We need to work on a population policy for all keeping both aspects in mind,” said the RSS chief.