Bhagwat: Trade must be voluntary, not under pressure

NEW DELHI: Swadeshi does not mean autarky or shutting ourselves off from the world. International trade must continue, but voluntarily and without pressure, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said, stressing that India's economic engagement with the world should be rooted in self-reliance . His remarks, made during the Sangh's centenary deliberations in Delhi, gain significance amid intensifying debates on tariff barriers, supply chain decoupling and global economic realignments.

Delivering his second and concluding part of the lecture at the "100 Years Journey of RSS: New Horizons" on Wednesday, Bhagwat said "self-reliance is the key to everything. Our nation must be self-reliant, beginning from household and village level, while keeping the principle of swadeshi in mind."

Swadeshi, he said, was not about rejecting the world but ensuring India's agency in how it engages with the world. "Our nation must be self-reliant. But self-reliance does not mean closing ourselves to others. The world runs on interdependence... international trade will continue, but it should be voluntary, not under pressure. That's Swadeshi." Citing Gandhi's "seven social sins", he said, "Wealth without work, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, politics without principles-these have grown everywhere. Without restraint and sacrifice, no solution will endure."

At the heart of his address was the concept of Dharma. Bhagwat defined it not as sectarian religion but as a universal law akin to gravity. "Whether you accept gravity or not, it exists. Similarly, Dharma is the principle that holds life and the cosmos together. To live with discipline, restraint and sacrifice is to live by Dharma," he said. Dharma, he added, is "balance - the middle path that ensures the individual, society and nature all survive and flourish together."

This, he said, was India's historical responsibility. "Swami Vivekananda said every nation has a message to deliver... a destiny to fulfil. India's destiny is to give Dharma to the world, not by preaching or conversion, but by example and practice." "If Hindu society is organised, its very purpose will be to manifest world-Dharma and promote world peace."

As RSS enters its second century, Bhagwat's message was both inward and outward: build self-reliance and discipline at home, and project through conduct India's role as a guide to a world grappling with inequality, extremism and ecological strain.