4 days ago
‘Bharat' should not be translated, or it will lose its identity: RSS chief
Kochi: 'Bharat' should not be translated as otherwise it would lose its identity and the respect it enjoys in the world, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday, while asserting that the country no longer has to be the 'golden bird' as it was time for it to become 'a lion'. 'Bharat' should not be translated, or it will lose its identity: RSS chief
'Bharat is a proper noun. It should not be translated. Bharat must remain Bharat. It's because if we lose our identity, whatever other meritorious qualities you may have, you will not be respected or secure in the matters and identity depends on your 'sanskriti' (culture). I don't use the word 'culture'. The word we use is 'dharma sanskriti' and it doesn't have an English name. Our culture is associated with traditions,' Bhagwat said at the national education conference, 'Gyan Sabha', organised by the RSS-linked Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas in Kochi, Kerala.
Asserting that India has to become strong and wealthy from an economic point of view, he said: 'India does not have to be a 'golden bird' anymore. Instead, today's situation demands that India needs to become a lion, because the world recognises strength, not ideals. Bharat should be strong economically too. The world's best technologies must be visible here too. Without it, the world will not give us value.'
'We don't want to rule the world. We want the world to be a good place,' he added.
Kerala governor Rajendra Arlekar, who was present at the event, echoed Bhagwat's views. 'The next generation will no longer be a golden bird. It wants to see Bharat as a golden lion. The whole world will see and hear this lion roar. We are not here to destroy anyone, but to give something new to the world for its development,' he said.
Bhagwat, speaking on the topic 'Indianness in education', exhorted the audience to 'know Bharat and be a part of Bharat' in order to instil 'Indian-ness' or 'Bharateeyata' in education. 'In the education sector, we need reforms in a lot of areas. It should not be restricted to the curriculum alone,' he said.
During the event, Arlekar hailed the National Education Policy 2020 as the first and serious attempt at decolonising our minds and educational institutions.
'With NEP, our thinking has been changed, how we view our culture and our are 'Vishwa Guru' today. We have to assert it properly. Our rulers failed to assert it properly back in 1947 when we achieved political freedom,' he said, adding that use of terms like 'mummy and papa' for mother and father in Indian households are proof of the 'damage' caused by the 'previous education system'.
'We are to be blamed for it, how such terms entered our families and households,' he added.
