Population to OTT: What RSS chief Bhagwat said in Vijayadashmi speech

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat on Friday once again called for a policy to control population. Bhagwat made the pitch for a policy for the next 50 years today during his annual Vijayadashmi address.

Speaking in Maharashtra’s Nagpur, Bhagwat said that a population policy should be considered once again, the policy should be made for the next 50 years, and it should be implemented equally. He also said that population imbalance has become a problem for the country.

“Population policy should be considered once again. A policy should be made for the next 50 years, and it should be implemented equally because population imbalance has become a problem… While reimagining the country’s development one predicament comes to the fore which appears to concern many viz. the population. A population policy that is applicable to all groups is therefore imperative,” he added.

What Bhagwat said in the past

This is, however, not the first time that Bhagwat has demanded a policy to control the population. In 2020, during a four-day visit to Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, the RSS chief at a meeting with 40 Sangh functionaries said that a law for two children should be brought in to ensure proper development of the country. 

“We feel this is the need of the hour though it is up to the government to take the final call on this. This law will not have any relation to any particular religion and will be applicable to all,” he said at a meeting of about 40 senior Sangh functionaries.

Bhagwat said that RSS will support any law that calls for two children only. Underlining the need for population control, he had said that India was a growing country but uncontrolled population growth was not healthy for development.

In his Friday’s address, Bhagwat also touched upon other issues including monitoring OTT content.

“After the outbreak of the pandemic, nearly every child has a mobile phone and what they watch on their cellphones is not controlled,” he said.

#WATCH | "…There's no control over what's shown on OTT platforms, post Corona even children have phones. Use of narcotics is rising…how to stop it? Money from such businesses is used for anti-national activities…All of this should be controlled,"says RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat pic.twitter.com/PLELLPExdL

— ANI (@ANI) October 15, 2021

Incidentally, PM Narendra Modi had also pitched for population control, calling it a form of patriotism. During his 2020 Independence Day address, Modi said, “Population explosion will cause many problems for our future generations. But there is a vigilant section of public which stops to think, before bringing a child to the world, whether they can do justice to the child, give them all that she or he wants. They have a small family and express their patriotism to the country. Let’s learn from them. There is need of social awareness.”

What else Bhagwat said

He said that society should not wait for government action. Values must be inculcated in children at home. “Children must be taught to apply mann ka brake uttam brake [control on the mind is the best control]. This wisdom alone will be the remedy to the challenges of multifarious attacks on the Bharatiya value system that are diluting our faith and promoting recklessness.”

Bhagwat also hit out at cryptocurrencies, saying, “Clandestine, uncontrolled currencies, like Bitcoin, have the potential to destabilise the economy of all countries and pose serious challenges. The government must take steps to control these things.” 

The RSS chief said that the country’s journey from ‘swadheehnta to swatantrata’ is far from complete as there are elements in the world for whom India’s rise is detrimental to their vested interests.

“While comparing and contrasting the present scenario with this ideal of independent Bharat one realises, our journey from swadheehnta (independence/self-rule) to swatantrata (self-model of governance) is as yet far from complete. There are elements in the world for whom Bharat’s progress and its rise to a respected position are detrimental to their vested interests,” the RSS chief added.

Bhagwat further said that if the religion that envisions a world based on the Sanatan value-system prevails in India then the foul play of those “selfish forces” will automatically be neutralised.

Bhagwat said that the use of narcotics is also increasing in India. Seemingly training his guns on Pakistan, he said such activities are encouraged by certain bordering countries and the money is used for anti-national activities in India.

Amid the rising instances of targeted killings in Jammu and Kashmir, Bhagwat said that terrorists were resorting to targeted killings in Jammu and Kashmir to instil fear. He called for an increased military preparedness on borders to be increased. 

On October 11, five Army personnel, including a junior commissioned officer (JCO), were killed in an encounter in Dera Ki Gali (DKG) in Surankote area of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir. On August 19, a JCO was killed in an encounter with terrorists in Thanamandi area of Rajouri district.

Why the address matters

The RSS was founded on September 27, 1925 – which happened to be Vijayadashmi that year – by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and since then the RSS has made it customary for the sarsanghchalak (sangh chief) to address people on Dussehra. Dussehra or Vijayadashami, according to the Hindu calendar, is celebrated on the 10th day of Navratri festivities.

The Vijaya Dashami address of the RSS chief is considered the most important event for the organisation as it is during his address future plans and vision are put forth for all to follow. It is from this stage that RSS’s stand on various national issues is made public.