Bhagwat at RSS Vijayadashami event in Nagpur: bigger sacrifice than freedom struggle needed

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed the organisation's Vijayadashami 2026 event in Nagpur and made an appeal to the people of the country. He said the principle of unity is unshakeable and eternal, while our diversity keeps changing. According to Bhagwat, forgetting unity in diversity has weakened us, and forgetting right conduct has led to our decline.

Bhagwat said flexibility in diversity is a hallmark of Sanatan Dharma, and people should therefore stay alert and learn new things. He said the responsibility of making India a vishwaguru now rests on the shoulders of the new generation. He also said that great men made sacrifices to protect "sva", and that we will now have to make a sacrifice greater than that of the freedom movement.

Referring to the Preamble of the Constitution, Bhagwat said it describes us as "We, the people of India". According to him, this stands for a society that is emotionally one despite its diversity. He said the directive principles of the Constitution also clearly show how these emotional bonds can be strengthened further.

Bhagwat said that although we have the world's finest philosophy explaining the principle through which this emotional unity is directly experienced, our conduct became completely detached from it and degraded. As a result, he said, we kept falling from the position of vishwaguru and had to endure subjugation for several centuries.

He said that after emerging from that unfortunate condition through many great efforts and countless sacrifices, we have again begun to move on the path of unity and progress. This forgotten principle must therefore be understood clearly, embraced wholeheartedly, and the necessary qualities developed in every aspect of life, Bhagwat said.

Referring to Nepal, Bhagwat said a natural calamity struck there and it is necessary to think about why it came. According to him, such a crisis is coming across the entire Himalayan region. He stressed the need to form the right vision of development, and said that in the name of development, a situation should not arise in which the human being doing the developing does not survive.

On the state of the world, Bhagwat said political crises and conflicts have increased globally. He said the world knows that India has the answer to these conflicts. He said the contacts and relations built with various countries should continue in future.

On progress in science and technology, Bhagwat said it is happening and should happen. But it should also be remembered that all kinds of information have become open to everyone, he said. Those receiving this information must have the capacity to digest it, the ability to tell right from wrong, and discernment, he said. According to Bhagwat, information today reaches everyone without checking whether the person has such discernment. He said restrictions have been placed on information media in many countries of the world, and that the government and administration in India should consider this.

Speaking further, Bhagwat said that in a country like India, full of diversity of opinion, creed, sect, region, caste, language, food habits and customs, only a thought that accepts all these diversities, respects them and looks upon everyone with a sense of belonging can become the basis of our unity. He said that, fortunately, the Sanatan tradition that has continued in India since time immemorial makes us aware of this very truth. According to Bhagwat, this tradition tells us that the diversity of creation is as natural and changing as the unity of all existence is eternal, firm and unshakeable truth.