Nagpur: Respected chief guest, invited guests who specially came here to witness
this function, venerable seers, Mananeeya Sanghchalaks, all Mananeeya Adhikaris
of the Sangh, mothers, sisters, eminent citizens and beloved Swayamsevak
brothers.

The year preceding this Vijayadasami was very special as the 550th Prakash
Varsh of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji and the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi. The programmes planned in this connection will continue for some time
till their scheduled time-period ends. In the meanwhile, Dattopant Ji Thengadi’s
birth centenary year will also start from November 10. However, some important
events that had taken place in the past year have made it more memorable to us.
The Lok Sabha election results were declared in the month of May. These
elections attracted the attention of the whole world. The timely and systematic
conduct of the elections in Bharat, a country of continental proportion brimming
with diversity, was the prime cause of attraction for the world. Similarly, was the
change in 2014 a mere result of a negative political wave born out of the
disenchantment against the previous government, or the people had made up their
mind to go in a specific direction: was to be seen in the elections of 2019. The
world took note of that also. The people have expressed their firm opinion:
democracy is not a new unfamiliar thing that has been imported from outside but it
has been ingrained in the national psyche as a result of centuries of tradition and
collective experiences and enlightenment gained during the post-independence
period; and as a result, the society has resolved to remain in and take forward
democracy successfully. This fact came to the attention of all. The society by
electing the new government with an increased number of seats has endorsed its
past performance and expressed a lot of expectations for the future.
The move of the re-elected regime to nullify Article 370 has once again
proved that it has the courage to fulfil those expectations and respect people’s
sentiments and wishes in the interest of the country. Removal of Article-370 has
been already in the thought of the ruling party. But this time by skilfully garnering
the support of other parties in both houses, with strong logic and plea in
consonance with public sentiment the work was accomplished, for which the
members of the ruling party, including the Prime Minister and Home Minister, and
other political parties who upheld the public sentiments in Parliament deserve
congratulations. This effort will come to fruition only when justice denied under
the influence of Article 370 is restored, injustices occurred are brought to an end. It
will happen when our Kashmiri Pandits who were unjustly driven away are
brought back and rehabilitated and allowed to remain secure, fearless, patriotic and
Hindu. Many a right of residents of Kashmir which were denied to them so far will be restored, and false fears instilled in the minds of brothers of the Valley that
there is a threat to their property and jobs due to the nullification of Article 370,
will be removed and having done away with those fears, they will be able to
perform their duties towards the country’s development with brotherly affinity and
concord with the people of the rest of Bharat.

In the month of September, our scientists, with their talent, had caught the
attention and earned the praise and sympathy of the scientific community of the
entire world when they landed Chandrayaan’s “Vikram” on the hitherto unexplored
region, the South Pole of the Moon. Although the mission did not attain full
success as expected, achieving so much in the first attempt itself is a feat not
accomplished so far by the entire world. Due to this daring mission of our
scientists, the world’s admiration for our country’s intellectual genius and scientific
prowess and commitment to realise the goals through hard work has increased. The
matured intellect and action of the people, an awakened sense of pride in the
country and firm commitment of the government along with experience of our
scientific expertise— all these pleasant feelings have made the last year memorable
forever.

However, this is not the time either to revel in the given pleasant
circumstances or become lazy and let down our guard and loose our interest,
become inactive, indulge in luxury and selfishness, leaving everything to the
government. Our ultimate goal – making Bharat glorious and prosperous – towards
which we have started our journey is still far off. The forces, seeking to create
hurdles in the path and block the way, have not yet stopped their machination.
There are some crises before us, which needed to be overcome. There are some
questions, which need to be answered by us. And, there are some problems for
which we need to find solutions to tackle them.

As far as crises are concerned, there are always circumstances where there
are problems in the life of an individual or the world. Some crises are visible.
Some come to the fore later. As long as our body, mind and intellect remain alert,
healthy and responsive, the possibility of successfully tackling the crises will also
increase. Fortunately, the security capability of our country, preparedness of our
armed forces, security policy of our government and the situation of our expertise
in international politics– in all these aspects the situation has developed to such a
level that we remain alert and confident. The security alertness along our land and
maritime borders is better now. However the number of guards and checkposts on
land borders, and surveillance along the maritime border, especially on islands,
have to be increased. The terrorist violence has declined in the country. The
number of terrorists surrendering is also on the rise.

Still, for a human being, there is always a fear of a possible crisis from
within as well. The agents that cause many a trouble reside in the body. If the
body’s immunity comes down their impact becomes visible, otherwise, there won’t
be any hassle.

We all know that, in the past few years, there has been a transformation in
the direction of the thought process of Bharat. There are many people in the world
and in Bharat as well, who do not want this. A developed Bharat creates fear in the
minds of vested interests: such forces will also not want Bharat to be strong and
vibrant. Unfortunately, the prevailing state of social unity, equality and harmony in
Bharat is not up to the desired level. These forces are seen to be taking advantage
of the situation. Diversities of caste, creed, language and region are being used to
separate one from another; turning them to differences; widening the fault-lines
already existing in the society; imposing fabricated identities on manufactured
separations, thereby creating diverse and conflicting streams in the national
mainstream – such efforts are underway. It is essential to be alert in identifying
these plots and counter them on intellectual and social planes. Even well-meaning
policies, decision or statements coming from persons in the government or
administration are used by misinterpretation or distortion, to benefit their nefarious
designs by these forces. Alertness is a constant necessity. While all these activities
are underway, there is an overt or covert effort to create disaffection towards the
civil discipline and law of the land. This has to be countered at all levels.
Nowadays, there have been reports that members of a community in our
society have been attacked by another community, making them victims of social
violence. Such incidents have not been one-sided. There are reports of incidents
happening from both sides and allegations and counter-allegations. It has also
come to light that some incidents have been deliberately fabricated while some
others have been published in a distorted manner. However, it must be accepted
that these tendencies of violence have somehow or the other crossed the limits of
the law and order and wreaked havoc by eroding the mutual relations in the
society. Neither this tendency is the tradition of our country nor does it fit in the
spirit of the Constitution. Howsoever deep the difference of opinion be, howsoever
provocative actions might have taken place, still, we should act by remaining
within the limits of Constitution, handing over such cases to the police and
reposing faith in the judicial system of the country. This is the duty of the citizens
of a free nation. The Sangh has never supported the people who were involved in
such incidents and it stands against each and every such incident. Swayamsevaks
are working in this direction so that such incidents do not take place. But by
branding such incidents by the words like ‘lynching’, denoting the traditions which
were alien to Bharat and belong elsewhere, efforts are underway to defame our
country and the entire Hindu society and create fear among the so-called minority

communities. We have to understand that such a conspiracy is also being hatched.
Everyone should keep away from talking in provocative language or indulging in
provocative acts. The so-called leaders—who in the name of advocating the
interests of a specific community create clash in between the two communities of
our society and have made an industry out of their pursuits for selfaggrandisement—should not be patronised. Adequate laws exist in the country to
curb such incidents. They must be honestly and strictly implemented.

Different sections of the society should strive to increase goodwill,
dialogues and cooperation among themselves. In today’s context, it is absolutely
important to work for the goodwill, harmony and cooperation among all sections of
society and follow the discipline by keeping ourselves within the limits of
Constitution while expressing our ideas or working for the protection of our
interests. The Sangh Swayamsevaks have been taking efforts to enhance this type
of dialogues and cooperation. Even then, decisions on some matters are required to
be taken by the courts. Whatever be the decision, it is the duty of responsible
citizens that they should not hurt the mutual goodwill through words or deeds. It is
not the responsibility of any one community; it is the responsibility of all. Each one
should follow it and start with oneself.

Slowing down of the world economy has left its impacts everywhere. Many
countries including Bharat have to suffer the resultant of the ongoing global trade
war between the US and China. The government has taken many initiatives to tide
over the situation in the last one-and-a-half months. This gives a definite indication
of the government’s sensitivity towards people’s interests and its prompt and proactive attitude. We will definitely come out of this cycle of so called recession. The
personalities leading our economy are competent enough.

To strengthen the economy, the government is compelled to take steps such
as allowing Foreign Direct Investment and disinvestment of industries. However,
while implementing many government schemes and welfare policies at the lower
level, more alacrity and efficiency and avoiding unnecessary stringency can set
many matters right.

Forgetting the Swadeshi consciousness, while seeking answers to the
pressures of the situation, will also lead to loss. Dattopant Thengadi considered
‘Swadeshi’ as an expression of patriotism in day-to-day life. Acharya Vinoba
Bhave described it as self-reliance (Swaavalamban) and non-violence (Ahimsa).
As per any yardstick, those who have got the capacity to be self-reliant and provide
employment for all in the country, keeping themselves secured, can only build and
expand the international trade relations and offer a secure and healthy future for the
entire humanity. Considering our economic scenario, even if we have to choose any circuitous route, we must overcome the compulsions once and for all by
setting a destination and direction based on our own strength.

However, to minimise the impact of other immediate crises and the ups and
downs of the world economy on our financial system, we need to go to the basics
and ponder. We have to formulate our own economic vision keeping in mind our
requirements, profile and condition of our people and our resources and potential
to realise our national aspirations. The prevailing world economic thought is
unable to answer many questions. Its standards are also incomplete in many ways;
this fact has come before several economists of the world. In that situation, we
have to take steps to formulate our own economic vision, policy and system that
instil in us capacity to create more and more employment with least consumption
of energy that is beneficial for the environment, make us self-reliant in every
respect, and create and expand trade relations with the world on the basis of our
strength and terms.

We are lagging behind in thinking about this ‘Swa’ even decades after
attaining Independence, the root cause behind this is the education system, which
was contrived during the period of slavery to keep us slaves, and the same is being
continued even after attaining freedom. So we have to give a shape to our
educational framework also in tune with Bharatiya vision. Evidently, when we
study about the countries, which topped in the field of education in the world, we
find that the reason of their academic excellence is the attention they have given to
the Swa-centred education. We need a relevant, logical, truthful, dutiful education
system, based on an approach on the basis of love towards the whole universe and
compassionate outlook towards all living beings, which gives comprehensive
knowledge and pride about our language (Swa Bhasha), our attire (Swa Bhoosha),
and our culture (Swa Sanskriti). We feel the need for a radical transformation from
curriculum to teachers’ training. This cannot be achieved through mere structural
changes.

Along with the absence of these components in education, degradation of
culture and unethical and immoral behaviour in the society are the reasons behind
the two major issues in social life. In a country where women were revered as
mothers (matruvadparadareshu), where big wars were waged to protect the selfrespect of women that became subject of the great epics Ramayan and Mahabharat,
where martyrdoms like jouhar took place to safeguard the chastity, there the spate
of incidents which are happening today indicates that our mothers and sisters are
not safe and secure both in family and society; this is matter of shame for all us.

We have to make our mothers enlightened, self-reliant, and capable of selfprotection. The sanctity and decency of our culture is to be instilled in the men’s
approach towards women.

We all know, right from childhood this training starts in the family
atmosphere. Sheer absence of this is seen in today’s nuclear families. Another
frightening symptom of this is the growing level of drug addiction in the new
generation. There was a time when even the youth of a culturally rich nation like
China were made drug addicts by foreign powers, rendering them soulless. The
prevention of the devastating consequences of this social evil will be a very
difficult task unless our families cultivate a strong mentality to abstain from
temptation of durgs, incline towards moral life, and keep away from getting
allured; thus, avoid these dangers. In this regard, it is imperative that all guardians
including the Sangh Swayamsevaks remain alert and active.

Rampant financial and character corruption, which is being experienced in
the society, primarily emanates from this cultural degradation. From time to time,
in order to control this, laws are being made and examples are set by severely
punishing the corrupt persons. Though healthy and clean corrective measures are
taken at the top level, the corrupt practices continue to take place at the low level.
And, at times, apparently making use of these controlling measures, corruption is
growing. In the perplexity of following the stringent laws, honest persons suffer
and get entangled in difficulties, and those shameless and defiant who disregard
law and morality flourish by circumventing the system. This is not just
government’s responsibility. The greed to amass more without deserving, without
any or less effort, has crept into our minds in the form of a perversion, is the root
cause of corruption. In the social atmosphere, transforming the situation through
awakening and setting examples of ideal conduct in households, is an inevitable
responsibility for health and order of this country.

Media have a major role in awakening the society and creating a conducive
social atmosphere. Coming out of the commercial attitude of churning out mere
spicy and sensational contents, if the media join in creating a constructive
atmosphere, this endeavour will gain momentum.

Just as the situation in our society underscores the need for us to wake up
and think about making the atmosphere healthy, similarly the external environment
of the entire world demands a broad initiative of the humanity. The policy
initiative to make the environment healthy is a subject related to the process of
ushering in appropriate and inclusive changes in the environmental policies of all
nations. However, taking necessary steps towards bringing in minor changes in the
day-to-day behaviour of common people is also effective in this direction. The
Sangh Swayamsevaks are also doing many such works in this field. To make all
their activities more systematic, an endeavour namely ‘Paryavaran Gatividhi’ has
started as a social project.

For the last nine decades, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been
working for creating ekatmata (unity), sadbhavana (goodwill), sadacharan (good
conduct) and sadvyavahar (good behaviour) in the society, and a clear vision and
devotion towards the nation. It is quite evident that the service mentality and
devotion of Swayamsevaks have created a trust all over the country. However,
attempts are being made to create distrust, fear and hostility among sections who
have not yet come in contact with the Sangh. The Sangh is organising the Hindu
society: a relentless and misconstrued campaign is going on to extrapolate this to
mean that it harbours hatred against those sections, especially Muslims and
Christians, who do not call themselves Hindu. There is an orchestrated effort to
malign the Hindu society and Hindutva through a number of baseless and
slanderous allegations. Behind this nefarious design, there is a thought process,
which is relentlessly working to keep our society divided and make use of it for its
self-interests. This is so clear that only those who deliberately keep their eyes shut
don’t grasp it.

The vision and proclamation of the Sangh regarding the identity of the
nation, social identity of all of us, and the identity of the country’s nature, are clear,
well-thought-of and firm that Bharat is Hindustan, Hindu Rashtra. In the view of
the Sangh, the word Hindu is not confined to just those who call themselves
Hindus. Those who belong to Bharat, those of who are descendants of Bharatiya
ancestors, those who are working for the ultimate glory of the nation and joining
hands in enhancing peace by mingling with each other and accepting, respecting
and welcoming all diversities; all those Bharatiyas are Hindus. Whatever may be
their mode of worship, language, food habits, lifestyle, and native place, those will
not make any difference. Strong person and society are fearless. Such strong
people, with unblemished character, will not frighten anyone. Only the weak
people, due to fear born out of their feeling of insecurity, will try to frighten others.
The Sangh is making the whole Hindu society such strong, virtuous and benevolent
that it will not fear or frighten anyone, but save the weak and the frightened.

The confusing concept of the word Hindu, the imagination of confining this to
the framework of religion has been distracting our intellect right from the time of the
British. There is a section of society, which does not accept this word. They use the
term Bharatiya for themselves. Some people address the civilisations based on the
Bharatiya nature and culture as Indic in English. Those who use alternative words for
themselves, out of fear or confusion, and negate the word Hindu, are also acceptable
for the Sangh. Words may be different, ways and customs and mode of worship may
be different, food habits and lifestyles may be different, nativity may be different,
state and language may be different, but we are not considering those sections of
society different from each other. Accepting all those as our own, the Sangh work
goes on. This feeling of affinity and inclusiveness is the consciousness of the nation.

That is Hindutva. The sacred goal of fulfilling the relevant, all-round glory of our
ancient nation and preserving as well as enhancing the Dharma Pran nature and
culture, is at the core and destination of this affinity.

For the world, Bharat is an absolute necessity. Bharat has to stand on its own
strong foundation of nature and culture. So with this clear concept about the nation
and its pride in mind, it is necessary to make the feelings of goodwill, good conduct
and harmony strong in the entire society. In all these endeavours, the Sangh
Swayamsevaks have a significant role to play and will continue to do so. The Sangh
Swayamsevaks are active in making the plans useful for this a success. Accepting the
challenges of the times, each Swayamsevak has to work for this.

However, this need of the hour will be fulfilled only when we do away with the
mentality of leaving the responsibility of this task upon an individual or organisation
and become a mute spectator. The task of achieving progress of a nation, finding
solutions to the problems of society, seeking redemption of crises: all these cannot be
outsourced. Someone or the other may take up the task of leading, from time to time,
but it is impossible to attain the complete and eternal success unless the enlightened
society with a clear vision, selfless and honest effort and impenetrable unity do not
volunteer to intervene with strong force.

The Sangh is working to create Karyakartas who are able to build congenial
atmosphere for this work. The activities carried out by these Karyakartas in the society
and their impact have proved today that this is the right way to make us, our family,
our country and our world happy.

This is the appeal to you all, taking into account the requirements of current
period, we all should participate in this noble and sacred mission.