Gandhinagar, Aug 15 (IANS) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh volunteer Bhanu Chauhan on Saturday called for greater ideological awareness to understand and confront what he described as ‘urban naxal’ ideology and different forms of left-wing thinking.
Addressing an Independence Day gathering at the BJP Gujarat headquarters in Gandhinagar, Chauhan said the country’s fundamental idea was rooted in putting the nation first, national prosperity and preserving India’s integrity.
“Understanding anti-national ideologies with reason and critical thinking and confronting them is the need of the hour,” he said.
Chauhan said India’s identity was reflected in the ideas of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Nation First’.
“Independence Day occasion should be used to reaffirm a commitment to patriotism, national unity and the spirit contained in the constitutional phrase, ‘We, the People of India’,” he said.
He also spoke about Naxalism and its origins, saying the movement had initially emerged in the name of opposing injustice against farmers but subsequently adopted violence as its principal method.
“Its influence had spread across several parts of the country and that innocent people in tribal areas had been drawn towards violence,” he asserted.
According to Chauhan, 126 districts had at one point been affected by Naxalism. He said thousands of security personnel and ordinary citizens had made sacrifices during the prolonged conflict against Naxalism.
He maintained that India’s approach to change was not through violence but through dialogue, justice and organisation. “India’s nature is not one of violence, but of transformation through dialogue, justice and organisation,” he said.
Chauhan said ideological awareness was also required in response to the ‘urban naxal’ narrative and contemporary forms of left-wing thought.
Referring to what he described as changing forms of communism and left-wing ideology, he linked them with ‘wokeism’ and argued that “these challenges needed to be addressed through ideological engagement”.
“India should place its motherland, culture, values, national identity and the legacy of its sages and seers at the centre of this response. Strengthening the idea of putting the nation first is necessary to protect the country’s integrity, culture and national consciousness,” he said.
The remarks were made during the Independence Day programme attended by BJP state office-bearers, senior leaders, MPs, MLAs, party workers and citizens.
The ceremony included the hoisting of the national flag and collective singing of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jana Gana Mana’.
–IANS
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