REASSERTING his position on national security the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat squarely blamed the politicians, the administration and the government for neglecting vital issues concerning nation’s security and integrity.
Addressing the valedictory function of the month-long Third Year training camp of RSS at historic Reshim Bagh grounds of Nagpur on June 7, Shri Bhagwat warned that China was laying railway lines along the Arunachal Pradesh borders to facilitate supplies to the forces. But the Indian forces still depend on the mules for transportation. Drawing a comparison he said the situation was exactly the same in 1962 when the Chinese attacked India with full preparedness and inflicted a humiliating defeat on India. The Indian leaders then were busy blowing the trumpet of Panchasheel and our forces were not equipped even with the warm clothing and footwear necessary to stay in that difficult Himalayan region.
Recalling his meeting with a prominent student leader from Arunachal Pradesh Shri Bhagwat said that even the students of that region were concerned with the Chinese overtures and felt disgusted with the inaction of the government to deal with the situation in an effective manner.
The RSS Chief said the Government was well aware of the large-scale infiltration of illegal Bangladeshi citizens into India; it has been accepted by the government in the Parliament, but no steps were taken to detect and deport them to their country. Instead, these illegal migrants were being settled in different regions for narrow and selfish political gains, he alleged accusing the government of deliberately downplaying on this threat to national security and integrity.
“This is happening in our country only because the politicians have given priority to the narrow and selfish political considerations over the national security interests. When Arunachal Government detects and deports over 50,000 illegal settlers, the neighbouring Assam government provides them shelter for narrow political benefits,” Shri Bhagwat said.
“The phenomenon of conversion to alien religion at the gun point or by allurement was going on in border regions unabated. Those who refused to get converted are compelled to pay the ‘soul tax’ for their life. Swami Laxmanananda paid the price for opposing such fraudulent conversions in Orissa. This must stop forthwith,” the RSS Chief demanded.
Commenting on the ongoing caste-based census exercise Shri Bhagwat came out strongly in opposition of the same. While explaining RSS stand on providing constitutional safeguards to those weaker sections of the society, the RSS Chief asserted that the organisation always supported reservations to the sections of the society who remained neglected for historical reasons. He however questioned the motive of the government behind this current exercise of caste-based census. “What will the government achieve by counting the OBCs separately? Instead the government should formulate a separate independent scheme or set up a machinery to provide benefits to them on the lines of SCs and STs,” he suggested. “The RSS supported reservations for historical reasons but did the special schemes for the backward classes benefit them all these years? The demand for OBC census is being raised so that the political parties can plan to develop their respective vote banks,” the RSS Chief alleged.
Shri Bhagwat also expressed his reservations about the Unique identity Cards (UID) being contemplated by the government for the citizens. “This means all those, even including the illegal migrants, will get the UID card and become citizens of our country as there is no system to identify and deport such persons to their country of origin,” he said.
“Instead of addressing to all these threats to our national security and integrity, the Government is busy in investigating Hindu Atankvad (Hindu terrorism). The government is trying hard to implicate the RSS which never believed in the cult of violence and which works within the Constitutional frame work, in such acts,” Shri Bhagwat said.
The RSS Chief did not spare the Home Minister for going soft on Naxalites and Maoists. “The Centre is shirking from its responsibility by asking the states to take action and advising different state governments in different ways to tackle the Maoists. The true nature of Maoists has now been exposed with the killing of innocent people. But the Government asks Chhattisgarh to tackle this menace in a different way while the West Bengal government is told to tackle it differently. This hotch-potch policy will never solve such problems effectively,” the RSS Chief asserted.
Not sparing the so-called ‘intellectuals’ supporting Naxalism and Maoism, the RSS Sarsanghachalak asserted that large-scale and effective public awareness was needed to expose them and their intellectual supporters.
Shri Bhagwat also touched the move to invite foreign universities in India. “Our education system was the best in the world. Our students in USA are far better than their own students. In such a situation inviting foreign universities in India would tantamount to spoiling our talent and intellect,” he stated. This was nothing but blindly copying the western system of commercialisation and consumerism, he said.
Shri Bhagwat commented that the government, administration and leaders were drifting away from the people in their quest to retain political power at any cost. The answer to all these threats was to create unity of strong, vibrant and patriotic Hindus. “The RSS has been doing this since its foundation 85 years ago. This is our country and it is our responsibility to protect our motherland at every cost. Strong patriotism, will to sacrifice everything for the motherland and forging a strong impregnable unity of the society going above caste and sectarian affiliations is what is needed the most in present situation. And the beginning should be made at the individual level,” he appealed to the swayamsevaks and people on the occasion.
“We have one nationality and that is unequivocally the Hindu nationality,” Shri Bhagwat stressed adding that this concept of Hindu nationality would take the society above all the petty differences and forge a strong unity. The common people have more responsibility towards the country because they have the capacity to elect the government. Hence, it is our duty to create awareness about all such issues and threats to our national security and polity among the common masses,” the RSS Chief said.
The Chief Guest on the occasion Shri Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa, former Chief Secretary of Assam, took a detail view of the problems facing the north-eastern region. He said that the problems of Assam or any other north-eastern state were the problems of the entire country. Stressing more on the influx of illegal settlers from Bangladesh, Shri Rajkhowa said that the population of Muslims which was only 9 per cent in 1931 has increased to 32 per cent in 2001. They have their names included in the voters’ list and enjoy other benefits too.
He demanded that a survey of illegal migrants living in India should be undertaken. They have disturbed the demographic balance in the region, he said adding that nearly 10 districts of Assam have become Muslim majority districts. “While conflicting figures were given about the presence of such illegal migrants in Assam, the Chief Minister of Assam Shri Tarun Gogoi has the audacity to deny their presence,” Shri Rajkhowa said.
The various insurgent groups in the north-east were trying to establish a link with the Maoists of Nepal and this could pose a bigger threat to India’s security, he warned. Underlining the threat from expansionist China, Shri Rajkhowa said while the Chinese were busy making inroads into our territory, the government of India was supporting China on economic matters and at the Copenhagen Summit.
“China is building power stations and dams on the river Brahmaputra, the lifeline of Assam and entire north-east. China is planning 28 hydel stations to generate 37,000 MW electric power from these projects. What will happen to people of North-east in such a situation?” he asked.
Conversion to Christianity was a serious problem in the north-eastern region, Shri Rajkhowa said adding that various insurgent groups in Tirap, Changlang, and Lohit districts of Arunachal Pradesh who follow Buddhism, were forced to convert to Christianity by the members of NSCN(IM) and NSCN (K).
The former Assam bureaucrat warned if the names of illegal migrants were not removed from the voters’ list, the 2011 elections in Assam would be influenced by their presence denying the Indian citizens right to elect the government they deserved. He asserted that India was essentially Hindu country and should remain so for the welfare of the humanity. All the saints of Assam, the heroes of the past always highlighted this Hinduness and strove for spreading this feeling among the common people. But their contribution did not find any mention in the history books, he lamented.
Earlier, the swayamsevaks performed spectacular physical demonstrations such as Gopuram (pyramids), Niyuddha (unarmed combat drill), Yogasanas, and Vyayamyoga and of course the most attractive band platoon (Ghosh) presented the best symphony of music. Sarvadhikari Dr Darshan Lal Arora gave the details about the camp in his introductory remarks and welcomed the guests. Shri Ram Harkare, Vidarbha Prant Sah-Sanghachalak was also present on this occasion.
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