‘It was UNFORTUNATE that people accepted narrative of powers that came from outside,’ says RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat

New Delhi: Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS chief said on Monday that India must preserve its essence and identity by embracing its scriptures and ancient history and not try to imitate other countries or risk becoming a "laughing stock." He stated at an event that the process of preserving identity and connecting with "our glorified past" will take time and will necessitate a sustained campaign. "If we take an about-turn suddenly, the vehicle will topple, so we will have to do this slowly and steadily. History is not merely about books, it is very much about geography and people," Bhagwat quotes in his statement. “It was unfortunate that people in the country accepted the narrative of powers that came from outside and sought to ridicule our history, ancestors, values and cultural practices." He said this while speaking at the launch of a book. Connecting with the longest epic, Mahabharata, he cautioned against blindly aping other countries.

"There is a need to read and feel proud of our scriptures and history and create a narrative based on them. We cannot be China, Russia or the USA. We cannot call it progress, rather we would become a laughing stock," Bhagwat said.

He went on to say that several foreign powers were involved "They attempted to discredit our history in order to assert their superiority. We've forgotten our past. People told us our forefathers were stupid for their own sake, but why did we believe them? This was entirely our fault "He stated.

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In response to those who demand evidence to back up claims made in scripture, Bhagwat stated, "There cannot be evidence for everything. The process of seeking evidence also becomes ineffective. For example carbon dating is also accurate up to a certain period and after a while it is also not accurate." 

(With Agencies Inputs)