Youth must be told to say 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai': RSS chief

Nagpur: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said the new generation needs to be taught to chant slogans hailing mother India, comments that come against the backdrop of a raging row over alleged anti-India sloganeering on the JNU campus.

“Now the time has come when we have to tell the new generation to chant `Bharat Mata Ki Jai' (hail mother India). It should be real, spontaneous and part of all-round development of the youth”, he said.

Bhagwat, without making any direct reference to the JNU controversy, said this is necessary as some forces are telling the youth not to say Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

The Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) hit the headlines in early February when a group of students allegedly raised anti-India slogans during an event organised on the death anniversary of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. Police later filed a sedition case in which three students, including the JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar were arrested.

Bhagwat was speaking at RSS headquarters in Reshimbagh during an award giving function. On the occasion, the RSS chief presented Matrashakti award to social activist Sindhutai Sapkal.

PTI