RSS chief wary of China's friendship stance with India

Bangalore, Nov 22 : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat Sunday cautioned the Indian government to beware of China's smooth talk of friendship while it makes claim to Indian territory.

"China says it wants friendship with India, but does not give up its claim to Indian territory. We know what happened in 1962. We should be careful about what China says and what it does," Bhagwat said while addressing about 15,000 swayamsevaks in the sprawling Bangalore Palace grounds here.

Expressing concern over the security scenario in the sub-continent and the menace of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, Bhagwat said India should be prepared for any eventuality to protect itself from west, north or east.

"When China wants to wage war with India it will. And when it does not, it talks about friendship with us. We must be alert and prepared because China has not given up its claim on our territory," Bhagwat asserted.

Referring to the race for dominance in the world by countries like China and the US, the RSS patriarch said though India believes in one world and treats people across the world as one family, China and America want to subjugate others.

They treat the world as a market to hawk their goods and services, he said.

"The world is full of strife. Each country wants to dominate the other. Economic or military supremacy is considered to be a might to overpower other countries. The Hindu thought of universal brotherhood and unity is the need of the hour. India should rise again and guide the world in resolving differences, fighting and hatred," Bhagwat said.

Noting that the RSS stood for the unity of the people and that it respected their diversities, Bhagwat said the philosophy of Hindutva alone could help people come together.

"The world today is faced with serious problems and only Hindutva can provide answers to these problems. It's Hindutva, which believes in the world as one family," he exhorted, adding that Hindutva was the identity of the country.

Lamenting that even 62 years after Independence, India was not secure externally or internally, the RSS chief said the root-cause of the socio-economic problems in the country was the lop-sided development model adopted by successive governments by blindly following western countries.

"We have seen what happened to the so-called developed countries recently when their economies collapsed following the financial crisis. Capitalism failed to rescue them. The western type of development model is unsustainable in India. We should evolve our own development model, as 60 percent of the people do not benefit from such lop-sided development," Bhagwat averred.

Clarifying that he was not visiting the city to teach lessons in politics to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, Bhagwat said the RSS was not a group confined to physical and cultural activities, but was striving to strengthen the country and integrate the people irrespective of caste, creed, religion and occupation.