Mohan Bhagwat

Mohan Bhagwat in 2009

Mohan Bhagawat (born 11 September 1950) is a Hindu right-wing leader from India. He was appointed the chief of the nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in March 2009.

Quotes

2011-2014

• Crimes against women happening in urban India are shameful. It is a dangerous trend. But such crimes won't happen in "Bharat" or the rural areas of the country. You go to villages and forests of the country and there will be no such incidents of gang-rape or sex crimes.
  • As quoted in "Rapes occur in India, not Bharat, says RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat", NDTV (4 January 2013).

• Politically aware citizens are ready to exercise their franchise this time, and nobody can stop the nationalist force from coming to power at the Centre. But we must ensure 100 per cent polling to strengthen them.
  • As quoted in "RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat demands '100 per cent' unity within the BJP to ensure 'nationalist' victory in polls", India Today (16 February 2014).

• The cultural identity of all Indians is Hindutva and the present inhabitants of the country are descendants of this great culture.
  • On Hindutva, as quoted in "Cultural identity of all Indians is Hindutva, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says", The Times of India (10 August 2014).

• We feel it necessary to put a ban on meat exports, beef in particular and cow smuggling in immediate future.
  • On beef, as quoted in "Full Text of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat's Vijaya Dashami Speech", NDTV (3 October 2014).

• The world has tried fundamentalists, Communists and conservatives and has now turned to the Hindus to find solutions to the problems… Hindus should rise in unison and show the world leadership based on values.
  • As quoted in "Time for Hindus to show leadership to the world: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat", The Indian Express (22 November 2014).

• Hindus do not believe in conversion. If anyone fears that Hindus are resorting to conversion, let there be a legislation in Parliament to stop this practice. Hindus do not want to change anybody. If you do not want anybody to convert, then do not convert Hindus too.
  • On the Ghar Wapsi issue, "RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat justifies ‘ghar wapsi’, says will bring back our brothers who have lost their way", The Indian Express (21 December 2014).

2015-2020

• Anyone who dares that nation gets a befitting reply. People across the world learn from Israel the art of doing agricultural and vegetable farming. On the contrary, India has 5,000 km land, population in crores, powerful leaders but Israel has marched way ahead of us.
  • On Israel, as quoted in "Justifying 'Hindu Rashtra' Mohan Bhagwat quotes Tagore", DNA India (18 January 2015).

• Mother Teresa’s service would have been good. But it used to have one objective, to convert the person, who was being served, into a Christian. The question is not about conversion but if this is done in the name of service, then that service gets devalued.
  • On Mother Teresa, as quoted in "Mother Teresa’s aim was conversion, says Bhagwat", The Hindu (24 February 2015).

• Many things are said about the RSS without even attempting to understand it.
  • As quoted in "RSS misunderstood, maligned: Bhagwat", The Hindu (5 June 2015).

• The word lynching comes from an incident in the Bible where Jesus Christ told people to hit a woman with stones only if they had never committed any sin in their pasts.
  • As quoted in "Term mob lynching comes from Bible, says Mohan Bhagwat" Indiatoday (8 October 2019).

• You go to villages and forests of the country and there will be no such incidents of gang rape or sex crimes. They are prevalent in only some urban belts. Besides new legislations, Indian ethos and attitude towards women should be revisited in the context of ancient Indian values.
  • "Rape Happens in India, not Bharat", India Today (28 January 2013).

2021-present

• People with such proclivities have always been there; for as long as humans have existed... This is biological, a mode of life. We want them to have their own private space and to feel that they, too, are a part of the society. This is such a simple issue. We will have to promote this view because all other ways of resolving it will be futile.
  • On LGBT rights, as quoted in "Mohan Bhagwat Backs LGBT Community: "Should Have Their Own Private Space"". NDTV. 10 January 2023. 
• We kept our own fellow human beings behind in the social system. We did not care for them, and it continued for 2000 years. Until we provide them equality, some special remedies have to be there, and reservations is one of them. Hence, reservations have to continue till there is such discrimination. We at the RSS give all support to the reservations provided in the Constitution.
  • On caste-based reservations, as quoted in "Till discrimination exists...: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat backs reservations". India Today. 07 September 2023. 
• The leftist people in Western countries took a stand against auspicious things and started destruction. Society is suffering from their stand in the name of deliberation. Human behaviour is inclining towards beastly tendencies and this crisis is now hovering over India as well.
  • As quoted in "Kids' 'private parts' lesson: RSS chief blames 'leftist attack', cites Trump example". India Today. 18 September 2023. 

Quotes about Mohan Bhagwat

• If you don’t know their voices and you listen to a tape-recorded speech by Hedgewar and one from his current successor Mohan Bhagwat nine decades later, you wouldn’t know who is who: the thoughts they express are interchangeable. That does not reflect on Hedgewar, who was a child of his time and contributed the best he could to the Hindu cause. But it reflects quite negatively on the course the Sangh Parivar has taken since then.
  • Elst, Koenraad. Hindu dharma and the culture wars. (2019). New Delhi : Rupa.

• After the outbreak of Covid-19, one was hoping that the global calamity will be combated on top priority without any consideration of race, ethnicity and religion. [...] Even the RSS Chief, though very late in the chronology of events, also said that whole communities should not be targeted for the mistakes of a few. By this time the damage was already done.
  • Ram Puniyani during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown in India, Combating Hate: Building Bridges of Love, NewsClick (14 May 2020).