NAGPUR: The Ram Temple in Ayodhya was built due to the commitment of those in power and the support of people across the country, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said, adding that there is no need to declare India a Hindu Rashtra as it already is one.
He was addressing a programme on Monday to felicitate individuals under whose leadership and guidance the Ram Temple was constructed.
The event was organised by the Dr Hedgewar Smarak Samiti in Reshimbagh, Nagpur, according to an RSS release.
Bhagwat said the temple was built by Lord Ram’s own will, likening it to the lifting of Govardhan by Lord Krishna, stating that such acts are possible only when collective effort is involved.
“It rests on the Lord’s fingertip, but that fingertip does not move until people contribute their wood. The temple was built in the same way,” he said.
He further said that the resurgence of Sanatan Dharma requires the resurgence of Bharat, an idea he attributed to Yogi Aurobindo, expressed 150 years ago.
He noted that the process of resurgence began in 1857, and said that with each contribution, divine power continues to guide the fulfilment of this resolve.
Referring to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Bhagwat said that when the new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath, The Guardian published an article stating, “On this day, Indians have finally said goodbye to the British.”
“Technically, we said goodbye on 15 August 1947, but we were not fully certain,” he added.
Bhagwat questioned whether the Ram Temple would have been built without committed leadership, asking if it would have been possible without political will.
He said that without the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, the temple would not have been built, and that the movement itself was massive in scale.
“The decision to build the temple was taken, but without a strong foundation, how would it stand? Every person in Bharat contributed,” he said.
He added that Lord Ram’s “fingertip” ensured the completion of the temple and that the process of nation-building would continue.
Bhagwat also said the idea of India as a Hindu Rashtra was once ridiculed.
“Today, the same people say India is the land of Hindus,” he said, adding that there is no need to declare what is already a reality.
“The Sun rises in the east; do we need to declare it? Similarly, Bharat is a Hindu Rashtra; it is already a reality,” he said.
He further said the RSS is often asked to declare India a Hindu Rashtra, but maintained that there is no need to declare what already exists.
Bhagwat said the felicitation event was organised to express gratitude to those who contributed to the construction of the temple.
“They have done their work; now we must do ours. They were given the task of building the temple, and they have done it beyond expectations,” he said.
He added that future efforts must focus on strengthening and uplifting the nation.
“We must work to make it greater, more grand and more beautiful than imagined, so that Dharma is established in the world,” he said.
Bhagwat concluded by saying that the world’s needs can only be fulfilled by Bharat, and that India’s resurgence will be led by its own people, not by any other country.
(With inputs from PTI)