‘Need a new holistic development model’: Mohan Bhagwat flags ‘rich-poor divide’

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Thursday flagged the issues of the rising concentration of power in a few hands and the weakening Himayalas on account of the current economic development system, and advocated the need for a new model that promotes harmony, progress for all and ecological balance.

In his customary Vijayadashmi address from Nagpur on the occasion of the commencement of the RSS' centenary year, Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat said India must provide an alternative economic development model to the world.

Bhagwat touched upon the need for social unity saying the "grammar of anarchy has to be stopped". Citing forces trying to deepen faultlines in the country, he asked citizens not to "let diversity morph into divisions" and "not to hit the streets at the slightest provocation".

Dwelling at length on the economic development model, Bhagwat said that in the economic sphere, one can say that our situation has been improving as per the prevailing indicators but gaps between the rich and the poor are rising.

“The flaws of the prevailing economic system, such as the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the concentration of economic power, the strengthening of new mechanisms that enable easier exploitation, degradation of the environment, and the rise of transactionalism, are globally exposed. We will need to reconsider our approach,” he said.

Bhagwat said the world needs a new model based on holistic and integrated outlook, one that meets the needs of today and provides a permanent solution for the problems the humanity is facing.

"Our Sanatan, spiritual, holistic and integral approach has the power to ensure the material well-being of an individual, alongside the development of the mind, intellect and spirituality. It can maintain collective progress and environmental sustainability alongside individual development; and nurture a sense of duty and a sense of belonging while aspiring for economic well-being according to individual needs. Destiny demands that our citizens provide a model worthy of emulation through example," Bhagwat said.

Mentioning the recent violent clashes in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, the RSS chief said revolutions do not yield change, democratic means do.

Bhagwat said natural and immediate causes for discontent are the disconnect between the government and society and the lack of able and people-oriented administrators.

He, however, warned that violent outbursts do not have the power to bring about the desirable change. "Society can achieve such transformation only through democratic means. Otherwise, in such violent circumstances, there is a possibility that dominant powers of the world try to find opportunities to play their own games," the RSS chief said, stressing social unity as the principal requirement for social strength.

Recalling India's unity in diversity as its strength and BR Ambedkar's "inherent cultural unity" statement, Bhagwat said the most important factor in any nation’s progress is social unity.

"Our country has immense diversity. Many languages, multiple religions, diverse lifestyles and a variety of cuisines due to geographic diversity, all these diversities have existed since inception. Over the past thousand years, some foreign communities have also entered Bharat from outside our borders," he said.

The RSS chief said Indians regard diversities as specialities and understand the tendency to take pride in them.

"These distinct identities should not cause division. Despite all our distinct identities, we are all parts of a larger society. As a society, a country, a culture, and a nation, we are united," he said.

Noting that the RSS is engaged in organising the Hindu society, Bhagwat said the Hindu society is accountable for Bharat.

"It is an inclusive society. It is free from the binary of “us and them” which creates divisions on the basis of superficial differences of many names and forms. The Hindu society is upholder and guardian of the noble idea of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. This is why it is the duty of the Hindu society to make Bharat prosperous and a country that contributes immensely to the entire world," he said, signalling RSS' top agenda in the centenary year -- a further consolidation of the Hindus.

Bhagwat said that in India today there is no concept of a nation state. "We are a rashtra. States form and fall. The Rashtra lives," he said.

"Hindu rashtriyata has always kept us together while accepting and respecting all diversities. We don’t have a conception of a ‘nation state’. States are formed and decline, while the Rashtra remains eternal. We should never forget this foundation of our unity," the RSS chief said in the presence of former President Ram Nath Kovind, who was the chief guest on the occasion.