Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale stated that all Bharatiyas share the same DNA. Speaking at the inauguration of ‘Blooming Bharat – Young Intellectual Meet’ organized as part of the RSS centenary at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Ernakulam, on 25 February, he said that a nation is defined by three factors – the land, the people who revere it as their motherland, and the inherent culture within them.
He noted that our textbooks contained theories of Aryan-Dravidian conflict, which have been historically and scientifically proven wrong. There was propaganda that the Scheduled Caste community was a separate race. Bharat rejected this false narrative during the conference in Durban when P.V. Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister.
We are one nation, one people, and we share the same culture and DNA, Sarkaryavah Ji said.
He pointed out that culture is the manifestation of the nation’s soul, and spirituality is that soul. Languages may vary, but the culture is one. There may be a thousand expressions, but the essence is the same. Regardless of the music, the foundation remains the seven notes (Saptaswaras). There is no dance without Radha, Krishna, Shiva, or Parvati.
There are many versions of the Ramayan, but the story of Ram is one. The same agricultural festival is celebrated as Vishu in Kerala and Bihu in Assam. He added that various arts, festivals, proverbs, and stories reflect this cultural unity.
Dattatreya Hosabale emphasized that Dharma sustains the nation and must be practiced. Artha (wealth) and Kama (desire) without the foundation of Dharma will destroy both the individual and society. Dr. Balagangadhar, who studied and taught Western ideas and Communism for three decades, stated that Dharma is Bharat’s greatest gift to the universe.
Ours is an ancient nation, not one formed or forming since independence in 1947. Our concept of ‘Rashtra’ is not the same as the Western ‘Nation’. Not all languages reflect the same meaning. Bharat has existed here for millennia. He said that Bharat, described as ‘Jagadamba’ by Swami Vivekanand and ‘Jagat Janani’ by Maharishi Aurobindo, is a living nation.
He recalled socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia’s observation that the ‘Ram path’ starting from the banks of the Sarayu to Rameswaram united the North and South of Bharat. Krishna unified East and West from Manipur to Dwarka. The Sarkaryavah pointed out that the 12 Jyotirlingas and 52 Shakti Peethas proclaim the integrity of this nation.
Dr. Prem Nair (Director, Amrita Hospitals), Dr. Saju Madavanakkad (Chairman, Rajagiri Institutions), and Prof. M.S. Rameshan (RSS Dakshin Keralam Prant Sanghachalak) were present.
On this occasion, the Sarkaryavah released books published by Kurukshetra Prakashan, including ‘Sangham and Freedom Struggle’, ‘Invasion and Resistance: A Thousand Years of Struggle’, and ‘National Transformation through Panch Parivartan’. Vishwa Samvad Kendra Secretary Shaiju Sankaran introduced the books.
In the subsequent session, thinker and author S. Gurumurthy presented the topic ‘Representing the Spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat’. Dr. D. Mavoothu (Dean, Cochin University Management Studies) and Dr. Duvvuri Seshagiri (Director, NPOL) also participated. RSS Prant Karyakari sadasya V. Mahesh explained the follow-up activities.
RSS Prant Sah-Karyavah K.B. Sreekumar and Ernakulam Vibhag Karyavah K.C. Bijumon, Krishna Bhaskar Mangalassery and R. Somashekharan and several young researchers from Kottayam, Idukki, and Ernakulam districts participated in the event.
