New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday urged Indians to rediscover their national identity and unity, saying the country’s past defeats were rooted in a loss of self-awareness rather than lack of strength. He was speaking at the 100 years of Sangh journey programme in Bengaluru.
“Repeatedly, we were conquered by handfuls of aggressors even though we were brave and prosperous. That means there were inherent faults in our society. We forgot who we are,” Bhagwat said, stressing that India must revive its sense of collective purpose.
‘Freedom movements lacked unity’
Tracing India’s freedom struggle, Bhagwat said that while armed revolutionaries, political leaders and social reformers all contributed to independence, they failed to work in unison. “There were revolutionaries who kept the flame of patriotism alive, political movements that inspired courage, and reformers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Swami Vivekananda who sought to awaken society. But these efforts remained isolated and could not unite the entire nation,” he said.
He recalled how RSS founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar took part in all such movements before concluding that real strength lay in the unity and character of society, not in politics. “Leaders and ideologies can help, but the cause of national revival is the unity of society,” Bhagwat said.
He added that Hedgewar saw the Sangh as a divine and collective effort. “Dr Hedgewar said the Sangh is not born out of opposition but out of fulfillment. It is Ishwariya Karya, God’s work, meant to unite the people,” Bhagwat said.
Call for national awareness
Cautioning against narrow morality, Bhagwat said national consciousness must accompany personal integrity. “Raja Jai Singh was pious but helped Aurangzeb destroy the Kashi Vishwanath temple. A man of character without national awareness can harm society,” he said. Bhagwat concluded that the Sangh’s goal remains “organisng tshe entire society through man-making.” “We are not satisfied with just being strong. The whole society must become united and self-aware,” he said.