Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat on Monday called for a resolution to the Manipur crisis. He said the state had been peaceful for 10 years but violence had suddenly erupted and it was the need of the hour to resolve it.
Addressing an RSS event in Nagpur Mohan Bhagwat further said that the nation was rise above all faiths and realise the true meaning of unity in diversity. He further said that technology was used in the elections to spread lies. The parts of Mohan Bhagwat's speech went viral soon after the event.
Here are the top quotes from his speech:
"Manipur has been waiting for peace for a year. Before this, it was peaceful for 10 years. It seemed that the old gun culture had ended. And suddenly the conflict that was created or instigated there is still burning in its fire, it is crying for help. Who will pay attention to this? It is our duty to consider it by giving it priority."
"Elections are an event that occurs every five years in democracy. We continue to perform our duty of refining public opinion. We do it every year, in every election, and have done it this time as well. Election is a process of building consensus... The way in which people abuse each other, misuse technology, spread falsehoods during election campaigns is not right. Instead of saying Opponents, they should say Opposition. We need to free ourselves from the excitement of elections and think about the problems facing the country."
"Our [Indian] Society is a diverse society. But this diversity is only an expression of our unity. We are essentially one... We must respect the faiths of every individual in society and move forward together. That is what is meant by Dharma [righteousness]. Our scriptures mention this. Our downfall started when we started distancing our brethren from us... This is wrong."
"Outsiders came to our nation and tried to impose their views. The memories of those times remained and resulted in the division of the country... The wounds inflicted by history have driven us far from each other. We need to forget the past and move ahead without fear."
"A swayam sevak doesn't believe in extravagance. One must use what is homegrown. Exceptions are fine, but one must not get habituated to it. One must follow every law of the land, stop at red lights and pay taxes on time... And to enable this discipline in life, one must sit and reflect on the nation's culture and ethos."