Restrain tongues, build bonds: Mohan Bhagwat's message of amity on Dussehra

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, October 24

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday gave a clarion call for harmony, saying a call for friendship does not amount to cowardice or surrender.

In a strong message to the majority community, Bhagwat urged “restraint of speech and a conscious effort to refrain from politically crafted provocations”.

“We must restrain our tongues…make friends. Powerful people protect the weak. They do not indulge in hooliganism. We have to avoid provocations which are going to increase in the upcoming elections,” said Bhagwat in his Vijayadashmi address from Nagpur.

Singer Shankar Mahadevan was chief guest on the occasion. He sought an end to radicalism saying it promotes enmity.

The RSS chief also warned against “cultural Marxists and wokes”, who, he said, “were working against national unity”.

“We have to stay cautious of these devilish forces,” he said, attributing the Manipur violence to “external forces” and asking, “Who stood to gain from violence? Why did the violence erupt now?”

Calling for peace, unity and harmony, Bhagwat said, “A call for friendship is not surrender or cowardice. Character is a form of strength. Be strong and work for amity. This is an exhortation to all to recognise the thread of cultural continuity and unity that runs through our country’s vast diversity.”

He said his message was not directed at a particular community but was meant for all.

To the minorities, Bhagwat had a singular message — “Overcome the mentality of victimhood. There is no victim here.”

Advocating unity as the sine qua non for India’s global rise, Bhagwat said those who wish for unity cannot insist that all problems should first end before we think about unity. “We will have to work peacefully and with restraint, without getting distracted by the sporadic events

happening here and there,” he said.

The RSS chief added that sections of society will have to shed their sense of victimhood, stop looking at each other with suspicion and avoid manoeuvres for political dominance.

“Sadly, politics only becomes a hindrance in such noble initiatives. But when we call upon the people to shed their sense of victimhood, or ask them to shun mutual distrust, this is not a form of surrender or compulsion,” he said, launching a scathing attack on what he described as negative forces.

“Some anti-social people call themselves cultural Marxists or wokes. But they have also forgotten Marx since the 1920s. They are opposed to all the orderliness, prosperity, rituals and restraint in the world. A handful of people, to exercise control over the entire human race, reward, promote and propagate anarchy and self-indulgence. By taking the mediums and academies in their hands, their working style is to make the education, culture, politics and social environment of the countries victims of confusion and corruption. In such an environment, fear, confusion and hatred are created through false, contradictory and exaggerated circles. The society, entangled in mutual conflicts, trapped in confusion and weakness, and broken, unknowingly becomes prey to these destructive forces seeking their own dominance everywhere. In our tradition, this method of creating disbelief, confusion and mutual hatred among the people of a nation is called Mantra Viplav,” the RSS chief said.

He said Mantra Viplav could be countered with unity and noted that the purpose of India’s rise has always been the welfare of the world.

He said selfish, discriminatory and deceitful forces seeking their sectarian interests are making constant efforts to disrupt social cohesion and promote conflict. “They wear various cloaks. Some of these destructive forces call themselves cultural Marxists or “wokes”. They claim to be working for some lofty goals. Cultural Marxists reward, promote, spread anarchy and indiscretion. Their modus-operandi involves taking control of the media and academia, and plunging education, culture, politics and social environment into confusion, chaos, and corruption. We have to stay cautious about these destructive forces.”