RSS chief rejects Gandhi's claim of pre-British disunity in India
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat pushed back against Mahatma Gandhi's idea that India wasn't united before the British arrived, calling it a "false narrative taught to us by them."
He emphasized that India's sense of nationhood is ancient, organic, and fundamentally different from Western ideas of nationhood, rooted in interconnectedness and coexistence with nature.
Bhagwat on unity and diversity
Bhagwat argued that India's many languages, faiths, and cultures have always been a source of strength, not division.
He said the British only used these differences to divide people because they saw how strong Indian unity could be.
Bhagwat's views and vision
Known for bold statements like "Bharat and Hindu are synonymous," Bhagwat sees the RSS as a force for bringing Indians together.
He encourages dialogue across communities and frames "Hindu" as a broad civilizational identity beyond just religion or language.