Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday said certain episodes of “social violence” were called lynching to defame the country and the Hindu society and cause fear among a few communities. Bhagwat claimed that lynching was a “western construct” and should not be mixed with the Indian context to harm the country’s reputation, PTI reported.

“Lynching is not the word from Indian ethos, its origin is from a story in a separate religious text,” Bhagwat said at Nagpur in Maharashtra on the occasion of Vijayadashami. “We Indians trust in brotherhood. Don’t impose such terms on Indians.”

He also urged everyone to spread harmony and to live “within the confines of law”, adding that RSS volunteers were raised with sanskar, or values. “In such [lynching] incidents, RSS members do not get involved, rather they try to stop it,” Bhagwat said, according to ANI. “But the incidents are presented in a different way that propagate dispute. This is a conspiracy and everyone should understand it.”

Bhagwat said that in the past few years, India had gone through a transformation in the “direction of thought process”, but several people in the world and in the country do not want this. A developed India would cause fear in the minds of those with vested interests, he claimed.

“Those who belong to Bharat, those who are descendants of Bharatiya ancestors, those who are working for the ultimate glory of nation and joining hands in enhancing peace, respecting and welcoming all diversities; all those Bharatiyas are Hindus,” Bhagwat said. The RSS chief also claimed that policies and statements from those in the government were being misused to the advantage of people with vested interests.

The RSS chief asserted that the Sangh was clear and firm on its stand regarding the identity of India and its citizens. “The vision and proclamation of the Sangh regarding the identity of the nation, social identity of all of us, and the identity of the country’s nature, are clear, well- thought-of and firm that Bharat is Hindustan, Hindu Rashtra,” he said.

Bhagwat praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for abrogating Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 of the Constitution, adding that India’s borders were now more safe but coastal security needed dedicated focus.

“The number of guards and check-posts on land borders and surveillance along the maritime border, especially on islands, have to be increased,” he said, according to PTI.

On the country’s economy, the RSS chief said that the slowdown could be attributed to the slowdown in the world’s economy. He said the government had taken steps to tackle the situation and the challenges would be resolved.

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