RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday invoked the Ramayana and the Mahabharata to justify violence and a strong retaliation against "evil" neighbours, stressing that teaching a lesson to those who don’t reform was “dharma”.

Speaking at a book launch, Bhagwat did not mention the Pahalgam terror attack or Pakistan, but was seen alluding to it as he stressed that the “duty of the king to protect the people”. His comments were seen as a firm backing for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vow to teach a lesson to the terrorists and their backers responsible for the Pahalgam terror attack.

“Non-violence is our nature, our value… But some people will not change, no matter what you do. They will keep troubling the world, so what to do about it?” Bhagwat said.

Appearing to allude to Pakistan, he said: “We never insult or harm hooligans. But still, if someone turns to evil, what is the other option? Ravan ka vadh kalyan ke liye hua (Ravan was killed for good). There was no way to reform him (Ravan), and so Ram had to kill him. His killing was not violence."