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Mohan Madhukar Rao Bhagwat (; born 11 September 1950) is the sixth and current '' Sarsanghchalak'' (Chief) of the nationalist social organisation
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...
(RSS) since 2009.


Early life

Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat was born in a Marathi Karhade Brahmin family in Chandrapur, then in the state of undivided Madhya Prdesh in present-day
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
. He comes from a family of
RSS RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many ...
activists. His father
Madhukar Rao Bhagwat Madhukar Rao Bhagwat (born around 1920) was one of the earliest Swayamsevak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He first started as a Pracharak of Gujarat and later became President of the Chandrapur district and Gujarat’s regional promot ...
was the ''Karyavah'' (secretary) for the Chandrapur zone and later a ''Prant Pracharak'' (provincial promoter) for
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
. His mother Malati was a member of the RSS Women's Wing. Bhagwat completed his schooling from 'Lokmanya Tilak Vidyalaya' and then the first year of his B.Sc. from the Janata College in Chandrapur. He graduated in
Veterinary Science Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both ...
s and
Animal Husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...
from Government Veterinary College,
Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...
. He dropped out of his postgraduate course in Veterinary Sciences and became a '' Pracharak'' (full-time promoter/worker) of the RSS towards the end of 1975.


Association with the RSS

After working underground during the
Emergency An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
, Bhagwat became the ''Pracharak'' of Akola in Maharashtra in 1977 and rose within the organisation responsible for
Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...
and
Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the west Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Forming the eastern part of the state, it comprises Amravati Division, Amrav ...
regions. Bhagwat was chosen as the '' Sarsanghchalak'' (Chief Executive) of the RSS on 21 March 2009. He is one of the youngest leaders to head the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...
after K. B. Hedgewar and M. S. Golwalkar. In June 2015, due to a high threat perception from various Islamic terrorist organisations, the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
ordered the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide Bhagwat with round-the-clock protection. At Z+ VVIP security cover, Bhagwat is one of the most protected Indians. In 2017, Bhagwat became the first RSS Chief to be officially invited to the Rashtrapati Bhawan by then President
Pranab Mukherjee Pranab Kumar Mukherjee ( ; born, 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian statesman who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a pol ...
. In September 2018, Mohan Bhagwat presided over a three-day session at
Vigyan Bhawan Vigyan Bhawan ("science home") is a premier convention centre, conference centre of the Government of India in New Delhi. Built in 1956, over the years it has been the venue of conferences of national and international stature, seminars and awar ...
in Delhi as part of outreach to a wider public, where he said that RSS has discarded some parts of M. S. Golwalkar's ''Bunch of Thoughts'' which were no longer relevant to the current circumstances.


Ideology and views

In a rally in Madhya Pradesh in February 2017, Bhagwat asserted "Everyone born in the country is a Hindu – of these some are idol-worshipers and some are not. Even Muslims are Hindus by nationality, they are Muslims by faith only." Some months later, Bhagwat reaffirmed this, stating that Hinduism was the only true religion in the world, and that all other religions were merely sects that had originated from Hinduism. Bhagwat has also frequently shown his belief in
love jihad Love jihad (or Romeo jihad) is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory promoted by right-wing Hindutva activists. The conspiracy theory purports that Muslim men target Hindu women for conversion to Islam by means such as seduction, feigning love ...
, an Islamophobic
conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
promoted by Hindu nationalists, which alleges that Muslim men target Hindu women through means such as seduction, deception, kidnapping, and marriage, as part of a "demographic war" and a broader global conspiracy. In an earlier event in 2015, Bhagwat criticised the late
Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, ; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa or Saint Mother Teresa, was an Albanian-Indian Catholic Church, Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Missionaries of ...
, a
nobel prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
winning
Catholic saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
who was primarily known for her humanitarian work in aiding poor and sick people in India. Bhagwat stated "It’s good to work for a cause with selfless intentions. But Mother Teresa’s work had ulterior motive, which was to convert the person who was being served to Christianity." In 2019, he stated that the Sangh is not confined to any singular ideology or ideologue. He asserted that while the core principle of the RSS is the belief that India is a Hindu Rashtra—a concept considered non-negotiable by the organisation—it should not be categorised under any specific ideological framework, including that articulated in M. S. Golwalkar’s ''Bunch of Thoughts''. In November 2021, Mohan Bhagwat publicly expressed his
opposition to the Partition of India Opposition to the partition of India was widespread in British Raj, British India in the 20th century and it continues to remain a talking point in South Asian politics. Those who opposed it often adhered to the doctrine of composite nationalism ...
and voiced his support for the reunification of the Indian subcontinent. He stated, "The only solution to the pain of Partition lies in undoing it," thereby advocating for the reversal of the territorial division that occurred in 1947. In January 2023, Bhagwat advocated support towards the LGBT community in India. He stated, "People with such proclivities have always been there; for as long as humans have existed. This is biological, a mode of life." In January 2025, Bhagwat said that India got its "true independence" with consecration of
Ram Mandir The Ram Mandir (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Shri Ramlalla Mandir, is a partially constructed Hindu temple, Hindu temple complex in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. Many Hindus believe that it is located at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, t ...
in
Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...
.


Award

In 2017 the state-run Animal and Fishery Sciences University in
Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...
gave Mohan Bhagwat an honorary
Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...
degree.


Bibliography

* '' Yashaswi Bharat''. Prabhat Prakashan, 2021


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhagwat, Mohan Living people 1950 births Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharaks Activists from Maharashtra Sarsanghchalaks Indian Hindus Hindutva Hindu nationalists Hindu nationalism People from Chandrapur Hindu revivalists Indian Hindu religious leaders