At RSS event, Bhagwat calls for strength, Birla for national capability

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said the world respects strength and is searching for an alternative model of development, while industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla stressed the need for India to build national capability and resilience to navigate a rapidly changing global order.

Addressing an RSS volunteer training camp in Nagpur, Bhagwat said recent global events have highlighted a harsh reality: nations without power are often forced to submit to stronger ones.

"The world listens to those who have power. Truth alone is not enough; strength commands respect," he said, adding countries exercise power through military force, economic coercion and control over resources.


Referring to ongoing international conflicts, Bhagwat said even nations not directly involved bear the consequences.

"Wars taking place elsewhere affect us through rising oil prices and economic disruptions," he said.

Arguing that the world is looking for alternatives to conflict-driven and self-centred models of development, Bhagwat said India has an opportunity to offer a different path.

He also stressed that while economic and industrial supply chains can be rebuilt, the 'supply chain' of producing capable and virtuous individuals must not be allowed to weaken.

Birla, the chief guest at the event, said the world was passing through a phase of intense geopolitical competition and technological disruption.

Birla noted that artificial intelligence and broader economic realignments were reshaping societies and economies worldwide, creating both opportunities and challenges for India.

"The biggest lesson history teaches us is the importance of building national capability and national resilience," Birla said.