Calling for an urgent resolution, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has offered a philosophical take on the ongoing tensions over trade interests and H-1B work visa rules between India and the US, saying it is the outcome of a system that the world has been following for the last 2000 years “based on a fragmented vision” and self-interest.
But, he added, India cannot turn its back to the situation. “We must do whatever is necessary to get out of it… We can't proceed blindly,” Bhagwat, who heads the ideological parent body of India's ruling BJP, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Speaking in Delhi at a book launch event, he said India should follow its age-old “sanatana” approach that “ensures that no one is left behind”. He suggested that India can chart its own path based on that philosophy, while others may remain tied to a vision focused on self-interest.
“As India works towards being Vishwamitra or Vishwaguru, it will have to think of the ways the world is shifting. And we will have to fix the ‘ulti dhaara’ (unfavourable currents) as quickly as possible, without any delay,” Bhagwat said in his address at a book launch in Delhi.
Without naming anyone, he said "a gentleman from America" met him two-three years ago and talked about possibilities of India-US partnership in various domains, including security and economy. But, the RSS chief said, that man kept adding a caveat that American interests must be protected.
{{/usCountry}}Without naming anyone, he said "a gentleman from America" met him two-three years ago and talked about possibilities of India-US partnership in various domains, including security and economy. But, the RSS chief said, that man kept adding a caveat that American interests must be protected.
{{/usCountry}}“I said it does not work that way. Everyone has an interest, every country has an interest, and it works towards it,” Bhagwat was quoted as saying by The Print. "So, conflict will continue. Then again, it's not just the nation's interests that matter. I also have an interest. I want everything in my hands," Bhagwat said.
"The one who is at the top of the food chain will eat everybody, and living at the bottom of the food chain is a crime," he remarked.
"If we had to fight in every confrontation, we would have been fighting continuously from 1947 to today. But we endured all this. We did not allow war to happen... We have even helped those who opposed our policies at times," he further said.
His take comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing the message of “swadeshi” and self-reliance, though without expressly mentioning US President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs, or the steep fee of $100,000 on the H-1B visas that are widely used by Indian high-skilled workers, such as IT engineers, to live and work in America.
Talks for a trade deal between the two countries have, meanwhile, resumed.