'Not Aurangzeb's descendants': Mohan Bhagwat's pre-condition for joining RSS

Mohan Bhagwat

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat in no uncertain terms said the organisation's doors are open for everyone except those who consider themselves descendants of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Bhagwat's remarks came when when a volunteer asked about the required pre-conditions for becoming a member of RSS.

The RSS chief, who is currently on a three-day visit to Varanasi, welcomed all those who honour ‘Bharat Mata’ and the ‘Bhagwa Jhanda’ into the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. But not those who identify as descendants of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. “All Indians are welcome to the Sangh Shakhas because the worship methods of Panth, Jaati and Sampraday (creed, caste and sect) are different, but the culture is one,” the RSS chief added.

Earlier, on March 30, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that due to such a long journey, society has seen, tested and accepted the volunteers of the Sangh. "With a long journey, society has seen, tested and accepted the volunteers of the Sangh. As a result, there was a favourable situation, and the obstacles were also removed, and the volunteers are moving ahead," Bhagwat said. He had said that in Sangh's philosophy, one hour is spent on self-development and 23 hours on the growth of society.

At an event in Nagpur last week, Bhagwat had explained that the tradition of losing battles to foreign invasions had persisted since the time of Alexander the Great and continued with major attacks under the guise of spreading Islam. "Shivaji Maharaj was the first one who gave a strong solution to such attacks and invasions," Bhagwat said.