RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was constructed through the combined commitment of those in power and the collective support of people across India, and that there is no need to formally declare India a Hindu Rashtra because it already is one in essence.
Speaking at an event in Nagpur to felicitate leaders and workers of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Bhagwat described the temple’s completion as an act of Lord Ram’s will, realised only because millions of devotees contributed their share, much like the lifting of Govardhan by Lord Krishna.
Bhagwat underlined that without a strong foundation built by the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, the temple would not have stood, and that the process of the resurgence of Sanatan Dharma is inseparable from the resurgence of Bharat, an idea he traced back to Sri Aurobindo’s vision 150 years ago.
He linked the beginning of this national resurgence to the 1857 struggle and said that each generation’s contribution has aligned with a larger divine plan, with the Ayodhya temple now symbolising that continuity. He recalled the 2014 Lok Sabha victory and the then‑published The Guardian line “India has finally said goodbye to the British,” observing that while independence was formally won in 1947, a deeper psychological and civilizational assertion has only matured in recent years.
Bhagwat criticised the earlier ridicule of the idea of a Hindu Rashtra and said today even sceptics acknowledge India as the land of Hindus, rendering a formal declaration redundant. He used the analogy of the rising sun, asking if one must declare the sun rises in the east, and asserted that Bharat is already a Hindu Rashtra by culture, civilisation, and social ethos. He also dismissed external pressure on the RSS to declare such a label, saying the organisation prefers to work silently to strengthen Dharma, not to issue symbolic proclamations.
Bhagwat stated that the current felicitation event was meant to express gratitude to the generations who worked for the temple, noting that they have fulfilled their assigned task beyond expectations. He urged the next generation to focus not just on preserving the temple but on uplifting the nation, deepening cultural confidence, and establishing Dharma more widely in public life.
Ending on a civilisational note, he said the world’s spiritual and moral needs can be met only by a resurgent Bharat, and that this revival will be led by India’s own people, not by any foreign power.
