Mohan Bhagwat

Mohan Bhagwat
Bhagwat at an RSS event
6th Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 March 2009 (2009-03-21)
Preceded byK. S. Sudarshan
Personal details
Born (1950-09-11) 11 September 1950 (age 74)
Chandrapur, Central Provinces and Berar (present-day Maharashtra), India[1]
RelationsMadhukar Rao Bhagwat (father)
Malati (mother)
Alma materNagpur Veterinary College (B.V.Sc.)
OccupationSarsanghchalak, RSS

Mohan Madhukar Rao Bhagwat (IPA: [moːɦən mədʱukəɾ(ə)ɾaːʋ bʱaːɡʋət̪]; (IPA: [moːɦən mədʱukəɾ(ə)ɾaːʋ bʱaːɡʋət̪]); born 11 September 1950) is an Indian veterinarian who is the 6th and current Sarsanghchalak (Chief) of the right-wing nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh since 2009.

Early life

Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat was born in a Marathi Karhade Brahmin family in Chandrapur, then in the state of Central Provinces and Berar in present day Maharashtra.[2][1][3] He comes from a family of RSS activists.[1] His father Madhukar Rao Bhagwat was the Karyavah (secretary) for the Chandrapur zone and later a Prant Pracharak (provincial promoter) for Gujarat.[1] His mother Malati was a member of the RSS Women's Wing.[4]

Bhagwat completed his schooling from 'Lokmanya Tilak Vidyalaya' and then the first year of his B.Sc. from the Janata College in Chandrapur. He graduated in Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry from Government Veterinary College, Nagpur. He dropped out of his postgraduate course in Veterinary Sciences and became a Pracharak (full-time promoter/worker) of the RSS towards the end of 1975.[1]

Association with RSS

After working underground during the Emergency, Bhagwat became the Pracharak of Akola in Maharashtra in 1977 and rose within the organisation responsible for Nagpur and Vidarbha regions.[1]

He became Akhil Bharatiya Sharirik Pramukh (in-charge of physical training) for India, 1991 to 1999. He was further promoted as Akhil Bharatiya Pracharak Pramukh (in-charge of RSS volunteers working full-time for India).

In 2000, when Rajendra Singh and H. V. Sheshadri resigned as RSS Chief and general secretary respectively due to poor health, K. S. Sudarshan was nominated as the new chief and Bhagwat became Sarkaryavah (general secretary).

Bhagwat was chosen as the Sarsanghchalak (Chief Executive) of the RSS on 21 March 2009. He is one of the youngest leaders to head the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after K. B. Hedgewar and M. S. Golwalkar.[1]

In June 2015, due to a high threat perception from various Islamic terrorist organisations,[5] the Government of India ordered the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide Bhagwat with round-the-clock protection. At Z+ VVIP security cover, Bhagwat is one of the most protected Indians.[6]

In 2017, Bhagwat became the first RSS Chief to be officially invited to the Rashtrapati Bhawan by then President Pranab Mukherjee.[7] In September 2018, Mohan Bhagwat presided over a three-day session at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi as part of outreach to a wider public, where he said that RSS has discarded some parts of M. S. Golwalkar's Bunch of Thoughts which were no longer relevant to the current circumstances.[8]

Opinions

In November 2016, while addressing a 'Prerna Shibir' on the 80th anniversary of Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the women's wing of the RSS, Mohan Bhagwat said that Homo sapiens ate into the space of other species of genus Homo, like Homo floresiensis and Neanderthals, in the past, but even Homo sapiens could go extinct in the next thousand years.[9]

In September 2017 he said "Hinduism was the only true religion in the world and other religions were just sects which emerged from Hinduism."[10]

In November 2021, Mohan Bhagwat expressed opposed the partition of India and support for Indian reunification, saying, "The only solution to the pain of Partition lies in undoing it."[11][12]

In October 2022, during a speech on the occasion of Vijayadashami, Bhagwat said there was an imbalance in population across the country and a need for family planning. He said the government should bring in suitable reforms on the same issue.[13]

In January 2023, Bhagwat advocated support towards the LGBT community in India. He stated, "People with such proclivities have always been there; for as long as humans have existed. This is biological, a mode of life."[14][15]

In June 2024, Bhagwat said the Modi government should resolve the issue of Manipur riots.[16][17][18][19][20]

Award

In 2017 the state-run Animal and Fishery Sciences University in Nagpur gave Mohan Bhagwat an honorary Doctor of Science degree.[21]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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.
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ Naqvi, Saba (26 November 2012). "A Thread That Holds". Outlook. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  4. ^ Dahat, Pavan (29 April 2017). "Who is Mohan Bhagwat?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  5. ^ "RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat gets 'Z+' VVIP security cover". The Economic Times. 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  6. ^ "RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat gets Z+ VVIP security cover". Hindustan Times. 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 June 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ Agha, Eram (11 November 2016). Beg, Mirza Arif (ed.). "Indian Way of Life Only Option Left for World: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat". News18. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ Naqvi, Jawed (30 November 2021). "The fuss about 'reunification'". Dawn. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Mohan Bhagwat's remarks on population 'balanced', he didn't point fingers at particular community: S Y Quraishi". The Indian Express. 5 October 2022. Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  14. ^ Mahajan, Shruti (12 January 2023). "Powerful India Hindu Group Hints at Support for LGBTQ Couples". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  15. ^ Staff (11 January 2023). "Mohan Bhagwat, chief of influential Hindu group RSS, expresses support to LGBTQ community". WION. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  16. ^ "PM Modi unlikely to heed RSS chief advice on Manipur: Congress MP". The Hindu. 11 June 2024.
  17. ^ "RSS chief's big statement on Manipur, democracy in first comments on poll results". India Today. 10 June 2024.
  18. ^ Apoorvanand (15 June 2024). "Comment | Apoorvanand writes: Mohan Bhagwat's hollow sermon". Frontline. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  19. ^ Lavasa, Ashok (13 June 2024). "The message in the RSS chief's speech". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  20. ^ Hebbar, Nistula (11 June 2024). "BJP to start process to elect next chief; choice may have RSS imprint". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ 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.
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Political offices
Preceded by Sarsanghchalak of the RSS
21 March 2009 – 		Succeeded by
Incumbent