Bhagwat and Mukherjee: Divergent ideologies, converging idea of 'Bharat'

Nagpur, June 8: They both came from different backgrounds—one a Congressman to the core and the other a staunch follower of Hindutva ideology. But Thursday evening from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) platform they shared their strikingly similar views on the idea of Bharat.

There is an old saying that “All wise men think alike” and one could experience this when one heard both RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat and former President Pranab Mukherjee at the Reshambag ground in Nagpur on Thursday evening.

The occasion was the valedictory function of the 25-day long RSS Third Year training camp attended by over 700 swayamsevaks drawn from all over the country. The RSS had invited Dr Pranab Mukherjee to this function in conformity with its tradition but this invite had led to a big controversy in the media and television channels.

Defying the controversies and ignoring the advices ‘Citizen Mukherjee’ as the former President likes to be called, not only shared the platform with RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat but also shared his views on nation, nationalism and patriotism in the Indian context with those of the latter.

Both the leaders recalled the 5000-year-old history, tradition and ethos of India, common values and ups and downs in the journey of the nation. Mukherjee traced the history of India from the days of the “Mahajanapadas” to the modern Indian freedom struggle and discussed the ideas of nation, nationalism and patriotism at length.

Prior to his address, ‘Citizen Mukherjee’ visited the house of Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in Mahal area and paid tributes to the RSS founder. “Today I came here to pay my respectful homage to a great son of Mother India, K B Hedgewarji”, Mukherjee wrote in the visitor’s book there.

Later he also offered floral tributes to the memorials of Dr Hedgewar and his successor Shri Golwalkar Guruji at the Smriti Mandir in Reshambag before the start of the valedictory program.

Mohan Bhagwat, breaking the RSS tradition, spoke ahead of Dr Mukherjee and in course of his speech explained his idea of Bharat and how the flow of national life and cultural ethos flowed through the ages. “Our biggest strength is unity in diversity”, Bhagwat emphasized and elaborated on how the RSS had been consistently reaching out to diversities within the nation to unite them into a common identity. “RSS is an organisation of the entire society and not within the society as such nobody is the 'other' for it”, he clarified.

Describing the controversy over the visit of Dr Mukherjee as ‘meaningless’ Dr Bhagwat said that RSS was open to all kinds of views as long as it meant progress of the nation. RSS has the tradition of inviting people ‘rich in knowledge and experience’ from various walks of life during such functions to learn from their views. The former President accepted our invitation and that is the end of the matter. There was nothing to debate, Bhagwat said.

Bhagwat further said that RSS was open to different ideologies and believed that “divergence of views is needed to create a strong nation. Despite differences we also need to demonstrate our unity of objectives from time to time. The RSS considered whole nation as ours and believed in having cordial relations with all and hatred towards none. DNA evidences prove that ancestors of all Indian were the same 40,000 years ago, Bhagwat said. The Sangh is open to all and has been engaged in developing ‘Democratic Mind’ by shaping the individuals to build a strong nation, he added.

Mukherjee said that the Indian Nationalism is Constitutional Patriotism.

He explained the emergence of Indian nation as different from that of the European Nation-State concept. The Indian Nationalism emerged from the concept of Universalism and “Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam” and “Sarve bhavantu sukhinah, Sarve santu niramayah”.

Both Bhagwat and Mukherjee did not make any political comment but highlighted the values and ideas.

Both the speeches had attracted national attention, focused on striking common ground. They might have adhered to different ideologies but they attached a great importance to the spirit of diversity and accommodation and common idea of “Bharat”.