RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday highlighted the widening gap between rich and poor and the growing concentration of economic power, and hinted that India had failed to win enough global support for Operation Sindoor.
His remarks, made on the Sangh’s centenary, seemed to echo the Opposition’s line and were construed widely as oblique criticism of the Narendra Modi government’s economic and foreign policies.
Rather than single out the Modi government, however, Bhagwat underlined “flaws” in the economic model being pursued across the globe. He suggested a course
correction to tackle domestic inequality.
“In the economic sphere, one can say that our situation has been improving according to the prevailing indicators…. However, the flaws of the prevailing economic system, such as the widening gap between rich and poor, the concentration of economic power, the strengthening of new mechanisms that enable easier exploitation by the exploiters… are globally exposed,” he said.
“We will need to reconsider our approach on some issues to ensure that these flaws and the tariff policy adopted by America do not pose a challenge to us.”
Bhagwat’s remarks seemed at odds with the Modi government’s repeated assertions of a sharp reduction in poverty over the last decade. The government claims that 25 crore people were lifted out of extreme poverty and another 13.5 crore entered the “new middle class” from below during the Modi years.
The RSS chief’s assertion about a rising concentration of economic power seemed to carry shades of the Opposition’s allegation of “crony capitalism” — the government favouring a few corporate houses through its policies and contracts.
Bhagwat lauded the government’s “fitting response” to the Pahalgam terror attack and said Operation Sindoor had underscored the “firmness of the country’s leadership”.
He then sought to mildly flag India’s global vulnerability because of a lack of enough international support.
“However, at the same time, it has become evident to us that, while maintaining a policy and spirit of friendship with everyone, we must remain as vigilant as possible and further develop our security capabilities,” Bhagwat said.
He added: “After the Pahalgam terror attack, the position taken by various countries also revealed which of them are our friends and to what extent.”
This seemed an indirect highlighting of India’s failure to garner enough global support over Pahalgam and Sindoor, a charge also levelled by the Opposition.
Many countries had condemned the Pahalgam attack but shown less enthusiasm for India’s efforts to pin the blame on Pakistan and its launch of Operation Sindoor against a fellow nuclear power.
Modi lauded Bhagwat’s centenary address on X but did not refer to the implicit criticism it contained of some of his government’s policies.
“An inspiring address by Param Pujya Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat Ji, highlighting the rich contributions of the RSS to nation-building and emphasising the innate potential of our land to attain new heights of glory, thereby benefiting our entire planet,” Modi said, replying to an RSS post.
Himalaya caution
In what seemed a more direct censure of the Modi government, Bhagwat had frowned on India following the path of the “consumerist development model adopted worldwide”, which he said was leading to an ecological disaster in the Himalayas.
The Centre has been cutting down the geologically fragile Himalayas in Uttarakhand to build wide roads to Hindu pilgrimage sites, sweeping aside red flags raised by environmentalists and other scientists.
“The harmful consequences of the materialistic and consumerist development model adopted worldwide… are increasingly becoming evident,” Bhagwat said.
“In Bharat too, because of the same model, irregular and unpredictable rainfall, landslides, drying up of glaciers, and other similar effects have intensified over the last three-four years.”
Bhagwat said these disasters in the Himalayas should be considered a warning sign for India and the other South Asian countries.
Neighbourhood worry
Bhagwat said the recent upheavals in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were a matter of “deep concern” for India.
He said that forces seeking instability were active also in India.
“The regime change in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and, more recently, Nepal because of a violent outburst of public anger is a concern for us,” he said.
“The forces looking to create such disturbances in Bharat are active inside as well as outside our country.… Violent uprisings don’t lead to anything; they only lead to anarchy. Unrest gives opportunity to foreign powers to meddle,” he added.
“Change can happen by democratic means. The so-called revolutions do not achieve their objectives.”
Maoism advice
Bhagwat stressed the need to ensure justice and development at the grassroots to prevent the resurgence of Maoism in the country.
“The extremist Naxalite movement has been largely brought under control through the firm actions of the government and the realisation among people about the hollowness of their ideology and cruelty,” he said.
“Now that these obstacles have been removed, a comprehensive action plan is required to ensure justice, development, goodwill, empathy, and harmony in these regions.”