Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat Thursday sought to compare the change of guard at the Centre to Maratha king Shivaji’s ascent to throne 440 years ago and said the new change in the country would work “if we as a society sustain the change that we have undergone” to help us personalise your reading experience.
Bhagwat was addressing the participants of the RSS annual training camp to select swayamsevaks at the concluding ceremony here. Calling for sustained social vigilance and action to make the transition work for the betterment of the country, Bhagwat warned: “We are hoping that the new government, which has already shown a lot of promise, will work for the betterment of the country, but we need to understand that it doesn’t work by giving a theka (contract) for change (to the government).”
Bhagwat said: “Shivaji didn’t live for long after his coronation. The enemy camped for 30 years with huge army and armour to wrest the Maratha kingdom. But despite nobody worth the name being at control of the kingdom, he (Aurangzeb) failed and died in the attempt. So, who sustained the kingdom? Common public. Change can work only if society shoulders its responsibility. We had a change when country became independent but it didn’t fulfill our hopes because we slept by giving a ‘theka’. The new change in the country will also work if we as a society sustain the change that we have undergone.”
Bhagwat also called for a broader, all-inclusive sense of Hindutva encompassing all sections of the society to prevail. Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar presided over the programme. He said he was impressed by the discipline shown by swayamsevaks at the camp and opined that while the governments could bring about laws, only NGOs (like the RSS) could bring about reformation.