Keep dialogue with Pakistan open, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says, backs Hosbale's earlier remarks
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat stepped forward in New Delhi to defend a statement made by the organisation's general secretary Dattatreya Hosbale, affirming that India must keep the door of dialogue with Pakistan open even as it guards its security and national pride.
Hosbale had made the remarks in May during an interview with news agency PTI, when asked how India should respond to Pakistan's support for terrorism. His position: protect the nation's security and self-respect at all costs, but never shut the door entirely on conversation. "We should always be ready to engage with them," he had said at the time.
Bhagwat clarified that Hosbale's words were directed at the people of Pakistan, not its government or military establishment. He also stressed that the RSS holds no independent foreign policy of its own and stands firmly behind the Central Government's position on Pakistan-related matters.
Going further, Bhagwat pointed to a segment of Pakistani society that questions the very foundation of the two-nation theory. Many people across the border believe that Partition was a mistake, he said. Several Pakistani journalists, he added, have openly expressed admiration for RSS and its work. "There is a distinct undercurrent there — people who believe it is better to live together," he observed.
Bhagwat also raised a forward-looking scenario: if India were ever to decisively defeat Pakistan, the people there would either need to be welcomed or allowed to live in peace on their own terms. Either way, open channels of communication would be essential. "We are not like Hitler. That is neither our nature nor our path. We must defeat injustice and oppression, but we must also preserve what is good," he said.
The RSS chief was categorical that the organisation does not chart its own course on foreign affairs. Whatever the Union Government decides regarding Pakistan, the Sangh will support that position — that was the clear message Bhagwat chose to leave behind.
📰 Source: Udupi Times