‘Churchill Said India Would Be Divided, But We Proved Him Wrong’: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat (Image: PTI)

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said India had defied dire predictions of collapse after independence, citing former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s remark that the country would not survive as a united nation once British rule ended.

“Winston Churchill once said that after independence (from British rule), you (India) will not be able to survive and will be divided, but this did not happen. Now England itself is coming to the stage of division, but we will not be divided. We will move forward. We were once divided, but we will unite that again,”

Bhagwat’s comments came while he was addressing a gathering in Indore at the release of Madhya Pradesh minister Prahlad Singh Patel’s book Parikrama Kripa Saar.

Bhagwat said India continues to move ahead on the path of development, disproving predictions by following its traditional philosophy of balancing knowledge, action, and devotion. “Due to its belief in the traditional philosophy of the balanced trinity of knowledge, action, and devotion, Bharat is continuously moving ahead on the path of development by proving everyone’s predictions wrong,” he noted.

The RSS chief stressed that conflicts in the world were largely driven by personal interests, whereas India’s spiritual foundation had sustained its unity.

He also highlighted the country’s cultural reverence for nature, saying, “The present world is craving for such a relationship with nature. For the past 300–350 years, countries have been told that everyone is separate and only the strong will survive. They have been told that it does not matter if they trample on someone’s stomach or slit someone’s throat to become powerful.”

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, members of his cabinet, and people from various sections of society attended the event. Patel’s book is based on his circumambulation journeys of the Narmada River.