Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat
Mohan Bhagwat | |
|---|---|
 Bhagwat at an RSS event | |
| 6th Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh | |
| Assumed office 21 March 2009 | |
| Preceded by | K. S. Sudarshan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 September 1950 Chandrapur, Madhya Pradesh (now Maharashtra), India[1] |
| Relations | Madhukar Rao Bhagwat (father) Malati (mother) |
| Alma mater | Nagpur Veterinary College (B.V.Sc.) |
| Occupation | Sarsanghchalak, RSS |
Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat (mr; born 11 September 1950) is an Indian veterinarian (animal doctor) and political leader. He is the sixth and current Sarsanghchalak (Chief) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The RSS is a right-wing Hindutva group in India. Bhagwat has been its leader since 2009.
Early life
[change | change source]Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat was born in Chandrapur, India. He was born into a Marathi Karhade Brahmin family. At that time, Chandrapur was in Madhya Pradesh, but today it is in Maharashtra.[2][1][3]
His family had worked with the RSS for a long time.[1] His father, Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, was a leader (Karyavah) for the Chandrapur zone. Later, his father worked to promote the RSS in Gujarat.[1] His mother, Malati, was a member of the RSS Women's Wing.[4]
Bhagwat went to school at Lokmanya Tilak Vidyalaya. He studied science for one year at Janata College in Chandrapur. Then, he went to Government Veterinary College in Nagpur. There, he graduated in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry. He started a more advanced course (postgraduate) but stopped to work full-time for the RSS. He became a Pracharak (full-time worker) in late 1975.[1]
Work with the RSS
[change | change source]In 1975, the Indian government declared a state of Emergency. During this time, Bhagwat worked in secret. In 1977, he became the leader for the Akola region in Maharashtra. Over time, he got higher positions in the RSS. He became responsible for the Nagpur and Vidarbha regions.[1]
On 21 March 2009, Bhagwat was chosen as the Sarsanghchalak (Chief) of the RSS. He succeeded K. S. Sudarshan. Bhagwat is one of the youngest people to lead the RSS after K. B. Hedgewar and M. S. Golwalkar.[1]
In 2017, he became the first RSS Chief to be officially invited to the Rashtrapati Bhawan (the President's house). The President at that time was Pranab Mukherjee.[5]
In September 2018, Bhagwat spoke at a three-day meeting at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi. He wanted to explain the RSS to more people. He said that the RSS has stopped following some parts of M. S. Golwalkar's book, Bunch of Thoughts. He said those parts are not useful for today's times.[6]
Ideas and beliefs
[change | change source]In February 2017, Bhagwat spoke at a rally in Madhya Pradesh. He said, "Everyone born in the country is a Hindu." He explained that some Hindus worship idols and some do not. He believes that even Muslims in India are "Hindus by nationality" and are only Muslims by faith.[7] Later that year, he said that Hinduism is the "only true religion in the world." He said other religions are just groups that came from Hinduism.[8]
Bhagwat also talks about "love jihad". This is a belief held by some Hindutva supporters. They think that Muslim men trick Hindu women into marriage to convert them to Islam. They say this is a "demographic war" (a war to change population numbers). Many experts call this an Islamophobic conspiracy theory.[9]
In 2019, he said the RSS does not follow just one ideology (system of ideas). He said the main belief of the RSS is that India is a "Hindu Rashtra" (Hindu Nation). He said this belief cannot be changed. However, he also said the RSS is not limited to any specific book, including Golwalkar's writings.[10]
In November 2021, Bhagwat said he did not like the Partition of India (the division of India in 1947). He supports the reunification of the Indian subcontinent. He said the only way to fix the pain of Partition is to undo it.[11][12]
In January 2025, Bhagwat spoke about the new Ram Temple in Ayodhya. It was built on the site of the Babri Masjid (Babri Mosque). The mosque was destroyed in 1992. Bhagwat said that India got its "true independence" when the temple was opened (consecrated).[13]
Award
[change | change source]In 2017, the Animal and Fishery Sciences University in Nagpur gave Mohan Bhagwat an honorary Doctor of Science degree.[14]
Bibliography
[change | change source]- Yashaswi Bharat. Prabhat Prakashan, 2021[15]
References
[change | change source]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 IANS (21 March 2009). "Mohan Bhagwat: A vet, RSS pracharak for over 30 years". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ↑ India Today, Volume 34, Issues 9-17. Thomson Living Media India Limited. 2009. p. 21.
Born on September 11, 1950, in a Daivdanya Brahmin family in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, he began his career as a veterinary officer. His father, Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, was a close associate of Hedgewar and M.S. Golwalkar
- ↑ Naqvi, Saba (26 November 2012). "A Thread That Holds". Outlook. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ↑ Dahat, Pavan (29 April 2017). "Who is Mohan Bhagwat?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- ↑ Singh, Sanjay (16 June 2017). "Mohan Bhagwat's presidential lunch reaffirms-rise of RSS; no second term for Pranab Mukherjee". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
- ↑ "Mohan Bhagwat: RSS has discarded chunks of Golwalkar's thoughts". The Times of India. 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
- ↑ Pal, Rajesh (14 February 2018). "5 Times Mohan Bhagwat, RSS Supremo, Stirred Controversy". The Quint.
- ↑ Singh, Kautilya (11 September 2017). "Hinduism only true religion in world, those who want to return to its fold are welcome: Mohan Bhagwat". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ↑ Narayanan, Dinesh (26 February 2015). "Why Mohan Bhagwat's Recent Statements are a testament to the RSS's core ideology". The Caravan.
- ↑ "RSS Can't Be Bracketed Into Any Ideology, Says Chief Mohan Bhagwat". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
- ↑ "Solution to pain of Partition is undoing it: Mohan Bhagwat". The Indian Express. 26 November 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ↑ Naqvi, Jawed (30 November 2021). "The fuss about 'reunification'". Dawn. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ↑ "When is India's Independence Day? Not August 15, 1947, per Mohan Bhagwat, Kangana Ranaut et al". Telegraph India. 2025-01-14. Retrieved 2025-01-14.
- ↑ Maitra, Pradip Kumar (7 March 2017). "RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to get honorary doctorate in veterinary sciences". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ↑ Anand, Arun (13 December 2020). "Know what RSS under Mohan Bhagwat stands for and how it's changing in this new book". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
External links
[change | change source]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by K. S. Sudarshan |
Sarsanghchalak 21 March 2009–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |