RSS chief Bhagwat rejects Gandhi’s views, pushes Hindutva narrative on ‘Indian unity’
Nagpur: In a fresh attempt to rewrite history and advance the Hindutva agenda in India, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has publicly rejected Gandhi’s long-held view that Indians lacked unity before British rule, calling it a “false narrative shaped by colonial teaching.”
According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking at a national-level book festival in Nagpur, Bhagwat targeted the founder of modern India, asserting that Gandhi’s observations in his 1908 work Hind Swaraj were influenced by “colonial narratives.” Gandhi had written that India was not a united entity before the British arrived — a view widely accepted by historians.
Bhagwat, however, attempted to present the RSS version of history, claiming that India’s ancient concept of ‘rashtra’ was “organic” and inherently united, dismissing global understandings of nationhood as “Western constructs.”
He argued that Indians traditionally “resolved disputes through fraternity,” contrasting India with “other parts of the world that evolved through conflict,” while simultaneously using the platform to denounce the term ‘nationalism,’ despite the RSS being rooted in militant nationalist ideology.
Political observers say Bhagwat’s remarks are part of the RSS’s wider project to reshape India’s past, undermine secular foundations, and impose a homogenised Hindutva identity on a diverse population. The comments expose the organisation’s long-standing effort to delegitimise Gandhi’s inclusive vision and replace it with a sectarian narrative aligned with its ideological mission.
