Trade should not be done under pressure: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said India needs to take concrete steps to achieve ‘atmanirbharta’ or self-reliance.

 

He urged the people to embrace ‘swadeshi’ by buying locally-manufactured products and said international trade should take place voluntarily and not under pressure.

 

On the second day of his three-day lecture in the national capital, which is being held in the run up to the RSS’ centenary on Vijayadashami day on October 2, Bhagwat said India needs to present to the world a development model based on self-reliance, swadeshi, and respect for the environment.

 

On self-reliance, Bhagwat said it does not mean stopping imports. “The world moves because it is interdependent. So exports-imports will continue. However, there should be no pressure in it,” the RSS chief said on Wednesday evening. This comes hours after the additional 25 per cent tariffs were imposed by US President Donald Trump on India for its purchase of Russian oil.

 

 

“Whatever is made in your country, there is no need to import it from outside. Whatever is necessary for life and is not made in your country, we will import it from outside,” he said, adding that the country should shape its policies voluntarily, without any pressure.

 

The RSS chief bemoaned the rise of fundamentalism and radicalisation, individualism, consumerism and crass materialism. He added that the world has forgotten the pursuit of the path of ‘dharma’, or moral values, which he said was beyond ritualism or worship of a deity.

 

He said ‘dharma’ is needed to manage diversities. Bhagwat added that the degradation of moral fibre and values and increase in fundamentalism suggest that one cannot rule out the outbreak of a third world war. He flagged the danger posed by ‘cancel culture’ and wokeism.

 

The RSS chief reiterated the ‘seven sins’ described by Mahatma Gandhi, which he said have become the bane of contemporary society. These are wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, religion without sacrifice and politics without principles.

 

Bhagwat said analysing Indian society based on what the media is projecting as ‘news’ gives a warped picture. He said the incidence of good deeds that take place every day is 40 times more than incidents that are bad. He urged people not to get provoked and resort to violence or arson.

 

The RSS chief said the organisation should in the next few decades try to reach out to all sections of the society, especially opinion makers, across all regions, strengthen its network, and work towards creating a more harmonious society.

 

Bhagwat said invaders brought religious views from outside, and stressed the need to bridge religious divides with the sense of empathy to understand the pain of those with other religious persuasions. And, despite diversity, he called for reaching out to them since all Indians have common ancestors and shared cultural heritage. This, he said, would engender a spirit of positivity and harmony in the society.

 

He also said that the Indian subcontinent and the people living in it share the same rivers and mountains, but are divided by lines drawn on a map. He also talked about their cultural traditions being the same.

 

The RSS chief urged the people to wear traditional clothes during festivals. He added that they should sign their name in their mother tongue and use locally-manufactured products.