‘No mercy for evil neighbours': RSS chief Bhagwat invokes kings' duty, Gita after Pahalgam carnage
Bhagwat was speaking at the launch of The Hindu Manifesto, authored by Swami Vigyananand, a senior functionary of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and initiator of the World Hindu Congress.
Speaking after the Pahalgam terror attack, Bhagwat stressed that while non-violence is India's religion and a key part of its values, teaching a lesson to 'oppressors' and 'tyrants' is equally important.
New Delhi: Indians do not cause any harm to their neighbours but if the latter stoop to evil deeds, there is no other treatment, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said Saturday. In what appeared to be a veiled message to the government, he added: 'It is the duty of the king to protect his subjects.'
'We never do any harm or insult to our neighbours. But if someone does something bad then what is the other solution for that? It is the duty of the king to protect his subjects. The king will perform his duty. Hum kabhi bhi apne padosiyon ki koi apmaan koi haani nahi karte. Lekin agar koi utar aaye burayi par toh phir uska doosra ilaaj kya hai. Raja ka kartavya hai praja ki raksha karna. Raja apna kartavya karega,' he said.
His comments come in the backdrop of the Pahalgam attack in which 27 people were killed by terrorists.
'India's nature is non-violence… our non-violence is to change people, it is to make people non-violent… but some people can never change. You do whatever possible for them, they will not change no matter what you do and they will keep creating disorder in the world… then what one can do in this situation…,' the RSS chief asked.
Bhagwat also gave the example of Ravan and said he was killed not to harm him but for his own good. He said that it was well known that Ravan had all the qualities of becoming an excellent king—whether as a great administrator, a devoted follower of Shiva, or a man of vast knowledge—but he had to die because he did not use these qualities for good.
'It was known that whatever you do, Ravan could not be made a good person… then only one option was left… his present body should be destroyed so that he could get another soul and body. This is why God killed him and this killing is not violence, it is non-violence only,' he added.
Bhagwat also reflected on how the Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad Gita, says that Arjun had to kill his own brothers because that was the only way forward. He added that our 'Dharma' is that we must not be beaten by tyrants but must teach a lesson to goons.
'The Gita teaches non-violence, but the teaching is to ensure that Arjun fights and kills. Because he was confronted with people whose development could only be done this way,' he said.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
Also Read: RSS members are mobilising NCR residents—calls for Hindus to 'wake up', candlelight marches
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
36 minutes ago
- The Hindu
From street name to gobbledygook
The street sign says it all – Yahali 3rd Street. There are three of them, all connecting Anna Salai with GN Chetty Road, at Teynampet, very close to Semmozhi Poonga. Only Yahali is not the correct name. Google maps has compounded matters further. You need to search under Yaya Hali Street if you need to find it. The correct name is Yahya Ali Streets – 1, 2 and 3, and they take their names from Justice Yahya Ali of the High Court of Madras. The learned judge is not in public memory. When I spoke to a friend on this, he said that the Internet has no reference to such a judge, and I guess that would mean such a person did not exist. But he did. And when he died as a sitting judge in 1949, the High Court convened to condole his passing. The brilliant barrister and then Public Prosecutor V.L. Ethiraj led the mourners. He dwelt on the 'keen intellect, great learning, profound human understanding and exquisite courtesy we found in that frail figure.' But to get full biographical details we need to turn to the speech of an illustrious contemporary, V.C. Gopalaratnam who spoke on behalf of the Madras Advocates Association. Yahya Ali was born in August 1893 in Nellore, his father serving as Assistant Secretary in the Finance Department of the Nizams of Hyderabad. He graduated in History and Economics from the Presidency College in 1916 and then qualified in Law. He set up practice in Nellore and became Government Pleader and Public Prosecutor. He was a member of the Madras Legislative Council as well. In between he became Chairman of Nellore Municipality, his election being testimony to the regard he enjoyed from all residents of the town. It was a place notorious for communal tension and being a Hindu majority, it was considered impossible for a Muslim to win the ballot. In 1926, Yahya Ali became District Judge, being posted in that capacity to various parts of Madras Presidency. His specialisation in matters concerning finance led to his being appointed by the then Imperial Government in 1942 as the Chairman of the Appellate Income Tax Tribunal where he equipped himself 'with a thorough and exhaustive knowledge of Income Tax Law and Procedure.' In 1945 he became a judge of the High Court of Madras. It is interesting to note that he sat in judgement till the last day of his life, taking ill on April 21, 1949, and passing away the next day. While these details are from Gopalaratnam's speech during the condolence meet, we learn some more from what the then Chief Justice had to say. Yahya Ali he noted, was a connoisseur of Telugu poetry and 'he was a deeply cultured person- culture with the best ingredients of what I may call Moghul culture – urbanity, catholicity and instinctive love of all that was beautiful.' What was his link to Teynampet? He was at the time of his death Mutawalli (trustee or guardian) of the Teynampet Mosque in which his family had taken a deep interest. It was also in the precincts of this mosque that Yahya Ali was buried. And eventually a locality was named after him. And from there, the name has morphed phonetically as it were, to what it is now with street names changing accordingly. I wish the Corporation would be more careful with street signs. We have suffered enough mutilation with truncation of many names to initials, morphing of others, and of course, name changes at the drop of a hat.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Modi government's 11 years full of achievements:MoS defence
Union minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth on Tuesday said that the 11 years of Modi government are full of achievements and remain unmatched. Seth, who addressed the media in Shimla, said that today the whole world looks at India with respect and the world's view towards India has changed. Today's India is a new India which neither fears anyone, nor bows down, nor extends hands in front of anyone. 'During the Covid-19 pandemic, when the world invented the vaccine, we invented not one but two vaccines, then the Congress party made fun of it. The Prime Minister not only saved 140 crore lives but also saved the world by giving vaccines to 118 countries,' he said. The minister of state for defence said that on PM's call, 175 countries of the world accepted June 21 as Yoga Day. 'No one believed that India would organise such a grand G-20 summit but the whole world acknowledged the success with which the government organised the summit. When the Ukraine-Russia war started, we evacuated 23,000 students from safely and students from 28 countries came out safely from there with our tricolor flag in their hands. Under Operation Kaveri, more than 3,000 Indians were brought back safely,' Seth said. The MoS further said that after the Pahalgam terror attack, the country wanted revenge and our PM said that those who were behind this incident would be razed to the ground and he did it. 'This is the first time in the world that such a huge military operation was carried out on a nuclear-armed country. Our mighty army destroyed the terrorists within 23 minutes and destroyed 11 of their air bases,' he said.
United News of India
3 hours ago
- United News of India
Maha Guv urges Portugal to focus on select sectors to increase trade volume
Mumbai, June 10 (UNI) Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan on Tuesday suggested that Portugal should focus on select sectors such as infrastructure, information technology, tourism, and textiles, and make efforts to increase the current trade volume from USD 1.2 billion to at least USD 10 billion. According to a statement issued by the Governor's house, the suggestion was made during a courtesy meeting between Ambassador of the Republic of Portugal in India, João Manuel Mendes Ribeiro de Almeida, and the Governor of Maharashtra at Raj Bhavan, here. Stating that Portugal and India share a historical relationship, the Ambassador said Portugal is now focusing on the future and is keen to enhance cooperation with India across various sectors, including trade. In this context, he said, Portugal is also interested in signing a memorandum of understanding with Maharashtra. The Ambassador mentioned that this year holds special significance for both India and Portugal, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations. He informed that efforts are underway to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade, tourism, textiles and information technology. He told the Governor that he was meeting over 100 business representatives in Mumbai. The Ambassador also informed that around 1.25 lakh Indians reside in Portugal and that they had integrated well into Portuguese society. He said Indians possess a wide range of skills and added that Portugal currently has a growing need for skilled manpower. Sharing that Portugal is ranked the fifth safest country in the world next only to the Scandinavian countries, the Ambassador added that Portugal is a leading destination in global tourism. He expressed Portugal's interest in increasing cooperation with India in the field of tourism. The Ambassador also shared that Portuguese is spoken in around 15 countries, including Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, East Timor, among others. Welcoming the Ambassador to Maharashtra, Governor Radhakrishnan noted that Spanish and Portuguese are widely spoken languages across the world. He told the Ambassador that in his capacity as Chancellor of universities in Maharashtra, he has advised universities to offer at least one European language to the students. He noted that learning foreign languages would help students explore career and business opportunities internationally. UNI AAA SS
