RSS not against anyone, does not seek power: Bhagwat

Mumbai, Feb 7 (PTI) RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday said the Sangh is not "against anyone", and it does not seek power or popularity.

Speaking at a public gathering here, Bhagwat referred to various streams of thought that emerged during the freedom movement, represented by reformers and leaders including Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda and Dayananda Saraswati.

"But still it is seen, to some extent, that the work of giving a direction to society and creating an (enabling) environment is not happening," he said.

The RSS was not "against anyone" and did not work as a reaction to any incident, Bhagwat said, adding that its focus was supporting and strengthening positive efforts underway in the country.

The Sangh was also not a paramilitary force even though it conducts route marches, and though its volunteers wield the lathi, it should not be seen as an "akhada" (wrestling club), Bhagwat said.

Nor is the RSS involved in politics though some individuals with the Sangh background are active in political life, he added.

Talking about the situation in the country that preceded the RSS's birth in 1925, Bhagwat the British founded the Indian National Congress as a “safety valve”, but the Indians transformed it into a powerful instrument in the struggle for independence.

Referring to RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, Bhagwat described the difficult circumstances of his childhood including the death of both his parents due to the plague at age 13 and the financial hardship he suffered subsequently.

Hedgewar actively participated in various movements during the freedom struggle, including the Vande Mataram agitation in his school days, Bhagwat said.

When he cleared the matriculation examination with a first class, some people in Nagpur raised funds to send him to Calcutta (Kolkata) for medical education, where he came in contact with revolutionary groups, Bhagwat said.

Recalling an anecdote from that period, Bhagwat said Hedgewar operated under the code name "Koken", inspired by the name of a person called Kokenchandra. Once a police team which had arrived to arrest Kokenchandra instead detained Hedgewar, an incident documented in a book by Rash Behari Bose, he said. PTI ND NP KRK