Mumbai , February 8: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed questions over the delay in conferring the Bharat Ratna on Veer Savarkar, saying if Savarkar is given Bharat Ratna, then the prestige of the honour will increase.
Speaking at the Two-Day Lecture Series On '100 Years Of Sangh Journey - New Horizons' here on Sunday, Bhagwat said that he was not on the decision-making committee but would raise the issue if given the chance.
"I'm not on that committee, but if I meet someone who is, I'll ask them. If Swatantra Veer Savarkar is given Bharat Ratna, the prestige of Bharat Ratna will increase. Even without that prestige, he has become the emperor of millions of hearts," he said.
Earlier, Bhagwat also spoke about India's economic strategy, advocating a "production-by-masses" approach rather than mass production to boost competitiveness, enhance quality, and create employment opportunities.
"There is mass production, big companies, and our MNCs are also competing; Indian companies also need to compete, and they will. But our focus should be on production by the masses instead of mass production. If a type of production takes place in thousands of places, then it will become cheaper in our country. Then the competition won't be based on price, but on quality, and if we produce high-quality goods, the demand for our products will increase abroad as well. That's what should happen, and more people should get employment," Bhagwat said.
"Secondly, encourage working with our own hands and enhance the prestige of those who work with their hands, which is lacking today... We have many hands here, and they need work... Our economy and our mindset should be such that these idle hands get work...Everyone is running after jobs; we shouldn't let this happen," he added. He also noted that Hindu communities have "abandoned" low-skilled jobs, paving the way for "infiltrators".
"People from the Hindu community have gradually abandoned these low-skilled jobs. Everyone is chasing after high-paying jobs. The result is that since there's no one else to do these jobs, their (infiltrators) employment in these sectors becomes secure. Even those who don't call themselves Hindu, if they are from this country, they should also get work," he said.
He called for a "job-creating" environment, welcoming modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), stating that we have to become "masters of it" and utilise it for our benefit, while ensuring it does not negatively impact employment.
He said, "Our population is very large. Therefore, whatever we do for progress, it should be job-creating, not job-destroying. So, new technologies are coming, like AI and others. What should we do to ensure that this doesn't result in job losses? Technology will definitely come, and to remain competitive, we will have to master it and utilise it. We cannot say that we won't let AI come. AI will come, and we will use it in such a way that our work continues without negatively impacting employment." (ANI)
