RSS chief emphasises social harmony, mutual goodwill among different sections of society in Vijayadashmi speech

In his annual Viajayadashmi speech, Bhagwat spoke of the progress made by the country, the need to to cautious of the impediments sought to be created by elements jealous of the country's forward march and also of some other societal challenges including drug menace and children and youth being exposed to a lot of "disgusting" content on OTT platforms.

Opposition leaders slammed Bhagwat's remarks and with Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge stating that RSS "supports the party which wants disunity in the country".

Bhagwat said India's national life stands on the strong foundation of cultural unity and the country's social life is inspired and nurtured by noble values.

He referred to the threats posed by "Deep State," "Wokeism" and "Cultural Marxists" to cultural traditions stating that destruction of values and traditions is a part of the modus operandi of this group.

He highlighted that the first step of such groups is to capture the institutions of the society.

"Words like 'Deep State', 'Wokeism', 'Cultural Marxist' are in discussion these days. In fact, they are the declared enemies of all cultural traditions. Complete destruction of values, traditions and whatever is considered virtuous and auspicious is a part of the modus operandi of this group. The first step of this modus operandi is to bring the mind-shaping systems and institutions of the society under one's influence - for example, the education system and educational institutions, media, intellectual discourse, etc., and to destroy the thoughts, values and belief of the society through them," Bhagwat said.

"In a society living together, an identity-based group is motivated to separate on the basis of its actual or artificially created specialty, demand, need or a problem. A feeling of victimhood is created in them. By fanning discontent, that element is pulled apart from the rest of the society, and made aggressive against the system. Direct conflicts are created by finding fault lines in the society. An atmosphere of anarchy and fear is created by intensifying distrust and hatred towards the system, laws, governance, administration etc. This makes it easy to establish one's dominance over that country," he added.

The RSS chief also called for unity among Hindus citing the example of Bangladesh where he said that for the first time, Hindus united and came out on roads for their protection. He noted that till this radical nature of committing atrocities out of anger prevails - not only Hindus, but all minorities will be in danger."

"What happened in our neighbouring Bangladesh? It might have some immediate reasons but those who are concerned will discuss it. But, due to that chaos, the tradition of committing atrocities against Hindus was repeated there. For the first time, Hindus united and came on roads for their protection. But, by the time this radical nature of committing atrocities out of anger is there - not only Hindus, but all minorities will be in danger. They need help from the Hindus from the entire world. It's their need that the government of India help them... Being weak is a crime. If we are weak, we are inviting atrocity. Wherever we are, we need to be united and empowered," Bhagwat said.

Bhagwat further mentioned that in Bangladesh, such discussions are going on that they have a threat from India and hence they have to side with Pakistan since they have a nuclear weapon to stop India.

"We all know which countries are pushing such discussions, and narrations, we don't need to take their name. Their wish is to create such conditions in India as well. Such industries are being run to stop India," Bhagwat said.

He also emphasized that India is progressing in the fields of technology and education.

"Society's understanding is also gradually improving....Our philosophy of "Vasudev Kutumbkam" (the world is one family) is being widely accepted. Our yoga is becoming a global trend. The world is also embracing our perspective on environmental conservation," he said.

Bhagwat condemned the RG Kar Hospital rape-murder case in Kolkata, terming it a "shameful" reflection of the crime-politics nexus.

Criticizing the delay in justice and alleged efforts to protect the criminals involved, Bhagwat urged for vigilance to prevent similar incidents.

Launching an indirect attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government for its handling of the RG Kar-rape murder case.

"What happened in RG Kar hospital in Kolkata is shameful. But, this is not a single incident. We should be vigilant to not let such incidents happen. But, even after that incident, the way things were delayed, there was attempt to protect criminals - this is the result of the nexus between crime and politics, the poisonous culture is ruining us," Bhagwat said.

He said that the country is such that when Draupadi's clothes were touched the Mahabharata happened and when Sita was abducted then Ramayana happened.

"Our view towards women - "Maatrivat Paradaareshu" - is our value tradition that has been passed on for generations. Not being aware or neglecting or despising such values in families and in the media... is proving very costly. We will have to revive the system of enlightening these traditional values through family, society and media," the RSS chief said.

The body of a 31-year-old doctor was found at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. Since then thousands of junior doctors in the state have been on a strike.

The RSS chief further claimed that there is an attempt to create conflict by creating separation on the basis of caste, language, province.

"Arrangements are being made so that the society, entangled in petty selfishness and small identities, does not understand the all-consuming crisis looming over their heads until it is too late. Due to this, today Punjab, Jammu-Kashmir, Ladakh on the north-western border of the country; Kerala, Tamil Nadu on the sea border; and the entire Purvanchal from Bihar to Manipur are disturbed," Bhagwat said.

Bhagwat in his address on Dusshera, which also marks the RSS foundation day, mentioned that there is a sudden increase in the incidents in the country that incite fanaticism without any reason.

"There may be dissatisfaction in the mind about the situation or policies, but there are democratic ways to express it and oppose them. Instead of following these ways, resorting to violence, attacking a particular section of the society, resorting to violence without reason, trying to create fear, is hooliganism. The attempts to incite this or doing it in a planned manner, has been called as 'Grammar of Anarchy' by revered Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. Incidents of unprovoked massive stone pelting on the processions of Shri Ganesh Visarjan and the tense situation that followed are examples of the same grammar," he said.

Bhagwat asserted further that it is the job of the administration to prevent such incidents from happening, and to control and punish the culprits immediately.

"But until they arrive, the society has to protect itself and its property along with the lives of the loved ones. Hence, there is a need for the society to always remain fully alert and prepared and to identify these evil tendencies and those who support them," he said.

Noting that there is little control over OTT platforms on what is being shown and a lot of content is "disgusting", Bhagwat expressed concern that children and youth were getting negatively impacted.

He said the distorted propaganda and poor values spread by various systems and institutions are negatively affecting the minds, words and deeds of the younger generation in Bharat.

The RSS chief said mobile phones have now reached the hands of children as well and there is little control over what is shown and what children are watching.

He said there is little to no control over OTT platforms on what is being shown. "Lot of content is so disgusting that even mentioning it would be a violation of decency. There is an urgent need of laws over the perverted visual content reaching our homes espically children," he said.

Bhagwat said there seems to be an urgent need for legal monitoring over advertisements and perverted visual content reaching homes and society.

"The drug addiction spreading like wildfire among the young generation is also hollowing the society from within. Values that lead to virtuousness will have to be revived," he said.

The RSS chief said that sense of self-pride is increasing in the society, especially in the younger generation.

He also referred to peaceful assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and various other polls including Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year.

"We are gradually moving ahead in many areas. All elections including Jammu and Kashmir have been completed peacefully. There is a general confidence that youth, women, entrepreneurs, farmers, workers, soldiers, administration, government, all will remain committed to their respective tasks. It is because of the efforts made by all these people in the last few years, inspired by the national interest, that Bharat's image, power, fame and position on the world stage is constantly improving," he said.

"But as if to test our resolve, some sinister conspiracies have appeared before us which need to be understood properly. If we take a look at the current scenario of our country, such challenges are clearly visible in front of us. Attempts to disturb and destabilise the country seem to be gaining momentum from all directions," he added.

Kharge said RSS chief supports a party which speaks different things about Muslims.

"You (Bhagwat) are the one who supports the party which wants disunity in the country. It starts with changing the Constitution, ending the reservation and then speaking different things about Muslims," he said.

On RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's statement on Bangladesh and Hindus, Congress leader Pawan Khera said it is good if he understood the condition of minorities through Bangladesh and also that what should the minorities do.

"But what is surprising is that if minorities in India say that they should unite, they feel that how are they uniting and see it as a threat. Bhagwat ji says that Hindus across the world should unite, it is good. But why do they feel bad when Owaisi mentions Palestine in Parliament? They should answer on these contradictions."

Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh said RSS chief had not spoken of atrocities against women in BJP-ruled states.

"Strongly oppose the statement made by Mohan Bhagwat. Regarding RG Kar, within 24 hours the accused was arrested by Kolkata police and the CBI charge sheet was properly reflected positively. He didn't make any comment about Uttarakhand, Manipur, Nagpur, UP...where BJP is controlling the police and this kind of crime against women,"he said.

Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande said the world listens to what the RSS chief says.

"Today, he made a great statement that Hindus all over the world should unite. Whatever happened with the Hindus in Bangladesh cannot be tolerated and this is for every minority, whoever it may be...This is the line which Balasaheb Thackeray used to say, he used to appeal to all Hindus to come together, put up a brave from and fight against all such forces which were trying to divide Hindus," Kayande said.

In his remarks, the RSS chief also spoke about environment protection.

"Small steps we can take as individuals for environment protection - use water as minimally as possible and conserve rain water; abstain from using what is called single use plastic; increase greenery at homes and around and grow and preserve traditional trees," he said. (ANI)