Correct growing demographic imbalance: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

India must step up its border surveillance, learn to use advanced cyber security tools and be prepared to handle the fallout of the Taliban coming to power in Afghanistan, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat said at his annual Vijaya Dashami address.

"Some say Taliban is reformed now, some say it is the same old (grouping). But we should be wary and cautious. The Taliban may have changed, but Pakistan has not, neither has China. Both China and Pakistan support the Taliban. We have to be on our guard" adding that "dialogue is important," he said in Nagpur on Friday.

Bhagwat said there was a rise in the use of narcotics drugs and claimed that money from such businesses was being channelled for "anti-national activities". These remarks come amid criticism of the Narcotics Control Bureau, and their handling of the Mumbai drugs-on-cruise case.


Bhagwat reiterated the demand for a population policy to correct the "growing demographic imbalance caused by differential population growth rates", citing that the Hindu population was coming down. Bhagwat recalled a 2015 resolution passed by the RSS demanding a review of the national population policy, citing demographic changes in states such as Kerala and West Bengal.

"Along with the balance of population, we will also have to take care of the growing demographic imbalance being observed over the last few years. In the present circumstances, there is news of persecution of native Hindus, growing criminalisation and mounting pressure on them to escape from their areas where an imbalanced population growth has surfaced," he said.

The Vijayadashami address by the RSS chief is considered important as it lays out the broad outline for the organisation for the next year.

Bhagwat said there was a need to "accelerate" the "emotional integration and mainstreaming" of the people of J&K with the rest of the country.

Bhagwat called for a balanced approach towards all schools of medicine, and said Covid-19 has encouraged people to look at the Indian traditional system of medicines favourably. He said "clandestine currency like Bitcoin can destabilise the economy" and claimed that "vested global interests" were intent on blocking the country's progress.

Talking on content on OTT platforms, he said the government should create a content regulatory framework for OTT platforms.

Pitching for Hindu society to take back the control and upkeep of its temples, he said instances of misappropriation of movable and immovable properties of temples have come to light.