From 'Hindu Rashtra' to population policy to religious imbalance: Highlights of RSS chief's Dussehra speech

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said that India should have a policy for population control which is applicable to all communities equally. 

Speaking at the RSS Dussehra rally at the Reshimbagh Ground in Nagpur, Bhagwat said community-based population imbalance is an important subject and should not be ignored.

Population imbalances lead to changes in geographical boundaries, he said, citing East Timor, Kosovo and South Sudan as examples of "new countries that emerged because of religious community-based imbalances".

"Alongside the differences in birth rate, conversions by force, lure or greed and infiltration are also big reasons. All these factors have to be mulled over," he said.

Bhagwat also emphasised on the use of mother tongue and said "English language is not important for building a career".

"When expecting the government to institute the promotion of mother tongue, we should also consider whether we sign our names in our mother tongue or not? Whether the nameplates affixed on our residences are rendered in mother tongue or not? Whether household invitations bear the texts in the mother tongue or not?" Bhagwat said.

Pointing out at China's ?one family one child? policy, Bhagwat said, “While we are trying to control the population, we should see what happened in China. That country went for the one child policy and now it is getting older.”

“With 57 crore youth population in India, we will remain a young nation for next 30 years,” Bhagwat said.

“However, what will happen to India after 50 years? Will we have enough food to feed the population?” he added.

Bhagwat also stressed on people starting their own businesses and not relying solely on government jobs.
“All government jobs put together, only 30 per cent population will be covered. Rest of the population will have to start their own businesses to create more employment,” he said.

Bhagwat raised concerns over India's huge population and said emphasis on society's participation in every sphere of our national life is not to relieve government of its responsibilities of governance, rather it is to emphasise societal partnership for national upliftment and pivot policy making in that direction.

"Our country has a huge population - this is a reality. Nowadays there are two kinds of evaluation done on population. Populations require resources, if it keeps growing it becomes a big burden, perhaps an unbearable burden," he said.

Therefore, with the perspective of population control, plans are made. There is another dimension in which population is considered an asset. Focus is on appropriate training and maximum usage, Bhagwat said.

Bhagwat said that scare-mongering was being done by some that there was a danger to minorities, but asserted that this is neither the nature of the Sangh nor of Hindus.

Raising concerns over inequality, he said "unless temples, water sources and cremation grounds are open to all Hindus, till such time the talk of equality will be a mere pipe dream".

There should be no recurrence of Udaipur and Amravati incidents (where a tailor and a pharmacist were killed after they support suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma), Bhagwat said, adding that a particular community as a whole should not be taken as the root cause for it.

The RSS chief the concept of "Hindu Rashtra" is being taken seriously.
"Now, when the Sangh is receiving the affection and confidence of people and also has become strong, the concept of Hindu Rashtra is being taken seriously," he said.

"Many people agree with the concept, but are opposed to the word 'Hindu' and they prefer to use other words. We don't have any issue with that. For the clarity of concept - we will keep emphasising the word Hindu for ourselves," he said.