‘Severe demographic imbalances” in the country, challenges from the troika of Turkey-China- Pakistan, misgovernance in the administration of temples, unregulated content on OTT platforms, patting the government for the steps that it has taken to revive the economy post Covid-19 and use of uncontrolled currency like Bitcoin were the central theme of the keenly followed annual Dussehra address by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
The speech of the RSS chief is followed by the national and international audiences as it is during this speech that the RSS’ views, the ideological guardian of the BJP, are made public. Apart from senior RSS and BJP leaders, Friday’s address was also attended by Kobbi Shoshani, Consulate General of Israel, Mumbai.
Bhagwat reiterated the 2015 resolution, which talked about the rising population of minorities. The written text of Bhagwat’s speech, released by the RSS, citing the 2011 census states that the “population of religions of Bharatiya origin which was 88 per cent has come down to 83.8 per cent while the Muslim population which was 9.8 percent has increased to 14.23 percent during the period 1951-2011.”
Bhagwat, while expressing “deep concern” over the demographic imbalances urged the government to reformulate the demographic imbalances in the country.
“The rate of growth of the Muslim population has been very high than national average in the border districts of border states of the country like Assam, West Bengal and Bihar, clearly indicating the unabated infiltration from Bangladesh. The report of the Upamanyu Hazarika Commission appointed by Hon’ble Supreme Court and several judicial pronouncements from time to time have also corroborated these facts. It is also a fact that the infiltrators are usurping the rights of citizens of these states and are becoming a heavy burden on the already scant resources apart from creating socio-cultural, political and economic tensions.”
“The religious imbalance of population in the northeastern states has assumed serious proportions. In Arunachal Pradesh, the people of religions of Bharatiya origin were 99.21% in 1951. It came down to 81.3% in 2001 and to 67% in 2011. In just one decade the Christian population of Arunachal Pradesh has grown by almost 13 percentage points. Similarly, in the population of Manipur, the share of religions of Bharatiya origin which was more than 80% in 1951 has come down to 50% in 2011. These examples and pointers of unnatural growth of the Christian population in many districts of the nation indicate an organized and targeted religious conversion activity by some vested interest groups”, he said.
Political observers believe that the topic of population control, which has been hugely controversial, will become a major issue in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections where the BJP under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is seeking to return to power.
In what is being seen as a message to the Home and Defence Ministries, Bhagwat said that the country’s military preparedness should be sound and internal security must be secured.
“Another situation, which was not entirely surprising, but occurred before the expectation, is the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Their predisposition—passionate fanaticism, tyranny and terrorism in the name of Islam—is sufficient to make everyone apprehensive of the Taliban. But now China, Pakistan and Turkey have coalesced in an unholy coalition with the Taliban. Since Abdali, our north-western borders are once again a matter of serious concern. Taliban has time and again alternated between Kashmir and peace talks simultaneously. This is an indicator that we cannot retire in complacency. Our military preparedness on the borders needs to be alert and sound on all ends and at all times. In such a situation, the internal security and stability of the country must be secured by the government and the society with caution and vigilance.”
An entire section of the speech was dedicated by the RSS chief to the issue of temple mismanagement in the country, which shows the seriousness with which the RSS is taking the matter. Bhagwat said that “It is also necessary and reasonable that the operating rights of Hindu temples be handed over to the Hindu devotees and the wealth of the Hindu temples is utilised for the worship of the deities and the welfare of the Hindu community only.”
Bhagwat also shared his worries over the absence of a “prudence and regulatory” framework to control the OTT platforms. This is likely to increase the severity of government control over what OTT platforms show in India.
“At present unregulated broadcasts of varied material on OTT platforms are open for everyone’s indiscriminate consumption. In the backdrop of the pandemic online education was to be introduced. School-going children are hooked on mobile phones as a rule. In absence of prudence and a regulatory framework, it will become difficult to predict in which way and to what extent will this emerging phenomenon of contact with fair and unfair means sweep our society. However, to what extent anti-national forces wish to use these means is well-known. Therefore, the government must make efforts to regulate these affairs in no time”, Bhagwat said while adding that “clandestine, uncontrolled currency like Bitcoin has the potential to destabilise the economy of all countries and pose serious challenges.” These observations may put a stop to any move by the RBI to make crypto currency legal in India in the coming months.
The RSS chief also said that post Covid-19, the Indian economy was bouncing back. “There is growing confidence that if the government succeeds in ensuring the participation of all the stakeholders then the country will sail through the difficulties smoothly,” he stated.
