There will be no Hindutva without Muslims in India: Bhagwat
New Delhi, Sep 18 : Often under attack for its "exclusionary" agenda, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday said there will be no "Hindu rashtra" without Muslims in India and Hindutva encompasses fraternity and unity in diversity.
Expounding on the Hindutva concept in his second of the three-day lecture series, he said that Hindutva was the basic thought of all communities residing in India.
Bhagwat, speaking at the event "Future of Bharat: An RSS perspective" at Vigyan Bhavan here, also said that the Sangh firmly believed in the Indian Constitution and does not take part in politics.
He spent a large part of his over 80-minute speech expounding on the RSS' adherence to the concept of Hindutva and said unity in diversity, sacrifice, self-control and a spirit of gratitude were defining characteristics of Hindutva.
With the Congress and other parties accusing the RSS of following a divisive agenda and trying to impose uniformity, Bhagwat said there is no Hindutva without minorities being part of the society.
He said political parties follow different ideologies but if the spirit of camaraderie was forgotten, it can lead to difficulties.
"The Sangh works for 'bandhubhav' (fraternity) and for this there is only one basis - unity in diversity. This is our thought process which the world calls as Hindutva and that's why we say we are a Hindu rashtra (nation). It does not mean that we do not need Muslims, this does not work. The day it is said that we do not need Muslims, that day it will not be Hindutva.
"It talks of the world being a family. The day we say only Vedas will be preached and Buddhism should not be followed, then there will be no Hindutva. Because we constantly strive for truth and several religious philosophies came as a result. It is the only thought to give basis to this fraternity. It does not react," he said.
With the Congress accusing the RSS of being an extra-constitutional authority, Bhagwat said: "Constitution is the consensus of all Indians and it is duty of all to follow it.
"And what I have said so far is in accordance with the Constitution. Sangh works after accepting the primacy of the Constitution and we respect it fully."
He said the RSS worked for the country to become capable and rich.
"It should have economic capability, moral capability and strategic capability. It should be full of people with knowledge and humility, it should be egalitarian and free of exploitation."
He said the RSS wanted India to be powerful for the good of the world as people respect truth if there was power behind it.
Bhagwat said the RSS had its views on national issues but it does not interfere in the government's policies and functioning.
Since its inception, he said the RSS had abstained from electoral politics but continued to have its views on issues which affect the country.
"We don't participate in politics, (that) doesn't mean we don't have any views. We do have our views on national policies, we talk about the policies with all our might," said Bhagwat.
"Sangh abstaining from politics doesn't mean we will not talk about infiltrators. These are national issues and they affect the entire country. Sangh gives its views on all such issues," he added.
He rubbished speculation of the RSS influencing the government's functioning.
"Often people make this speculation that a call from Nagpur (RSS headquarters) must be behind a particular decision (of the government). This is all baseless. All those working (in the government) are seniors and they are far more experienced in politics than us," said Bhagwat.
"They don't need Sangh's advice. They neither depend on our advice, nor do we give any. If they need any suggestion, they ask for it, and if we have something to offer, then we give it. But we have no influence on the government's policies. They are our Swayamsevaks, but are capable of doing their job," he added.
He also said the aim of the Sangh was to unite the entire society.
"Since the birth of the Sangh, it has decided to stay away from politics. It will neither contest elections, nor participate in electoral politics. RSS functionaries cannot be office bearers of a political party."
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Four astronauts return after historic lunar flyby, NASA now eyes landing on moon
Washington (PTI): Amid claps and cheers, four astronauts of NASA’s Artemis-II mission splashed down in the Pacific ocean after a historic flight to the moon – the first by humans in more than 50 years.
“The path to the moon is open but the work ahead is greater than the work behind,” Amit Kshatriya, Indian-origin NASA Associate Administrator told a press conference shortly after the Artemis-II crew returned to earth off the coast of San Diego at 8:07 eastern time on Friday.
The lunar flyby mission involving Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen was the first journey to the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972 when Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent three days exploring the lunar surface.
Rick Henfling, the flight director, said the Artemis II astronauts are “happy and healthy and ready to come home to Houston.”
Artemis II was the first crewed mission to utilise NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew module — demonstrating that the agency’s equipment can propel astronauts out of Earth’s orbit and bring them safely home.
"Yesterday, flight director Jeff Radigan said we had less than a degree of an angle to hit after a quarter of a million miles to the moon," Kshatriya told reporters.
"And their team hit it. This is not luck; that is 1,000 people doing their job," he said.
The mission flew 700,237 miles; its peak velocity was 24,664 m.p.h.; and the flight had an entry range of 1,957 miles but landed within one mile of its target, Henfling said.
NASA now aims to land humans on the moon where the space agency also plans to set up a habitat that would be the launchpad for future missions to Mars and beyond.
It was a triumphant homecoming for the crew of four whose record-breaking lunar flyby revealed not only swaths of the moon's far side never seen before by human eyes but a total solar eclipse.
They emerged from their bobbing capsule into the sunlight one by one.
Henfling said his team 'breathed a sigh of relief' once the side hatch opened on the Orion Integrity after it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.
"We all breathed a sigh of relief once the hatch opened up, that's when we brought the team in," he said.
"We said a few words to the flight controllers, and then we turned around to the families and waved and gave them a thumbs up, and we all watched as each of their four astronauts got out of the spaceship and were hoisted up onto the helicopters. It was a great day," he added.
Henfling said his team felt "anxiety" as the four astronauts re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, but felt confident in all their training leading up the history-making lunar mission.
NASA said the Artemis III mission is "right around the corner" following its history-making journey around the moon.
"The next mission is right around the corner, and you know, we'll take the lessons learned from Artemis II," Henfling said.
"We learned a bunch on how to fly people in space, both from vehicle operations, but also from how to run a control room with a deep space mission. And when the time is right, we'll get back into specific training, and we've got a core group of about 30 flight directors, and they're all extremely capable.
"I think anybody who's assigned to that next mission is going to be as successful as us," Henfling said.
Amit Kshatriya is serving as the highest-ranking civil servant and a senior advisor to the administrator at NASA. He leads NASA's 10 centre directors, as well as the mission directorate associate administrators. He is also the agency’s chief operating officer.
Kshatriya previously served as the deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars Program in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
LIVE: They are coming home.
— NASA (@NASA) April 10, 2026
Watch as the Artemis II crew returns to Earth, splashing down at around 8:07pm ET (0007 UTC April 11). https://t.co/n3vZE2rcFv
