Gautam Buddha Nagar (Uttar Pradesh) [India]: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale emphasized that India’s growth is aimed at global welfare, not dominance over other nations.
Speaking at a book launch event on Monday, Hosabale stated:
“India is living for the world. India will rise not only for its benefit. India will rise not to crush or bully other countries; India will rise for the welfare of other countries. This is India’s aim.”
Colonial Mindset and “Englishism”
Hosabale highlighted the psychological impact of British colonial rule, arguing that while Indians never felt inferior under the Mughals, the British instilled a sense of cultural superiority that persists today in the form of “Englishism” and the continued dominance of English-medium education.
“During the Mughal period and the time of Islamic invasions, the people of the country never felt that they were inferior to the Mughals. However, during the British period, Indians started feeling that the British were superior to them. This mindset still exists today, which is why Englishism is still prevalent. Due to Englishism, people feel that those who cannot speak English are inferior, which is why the prominence of English-medium education persists. We need freedom from the colonization of the mind,” he said.
Call to Use “Bharat” Instead of “India”
Hosabale also raised concerns about the continued use of “India” in official documents and urged a shift towards exclusively using “Bharat” as the country’s name.
“During the G-20 summit, the invitation card for Rashtrapati Bhavan and the invitation card for the PM on January 26 had ‘Republic of Bharat’ written in English. The Constitution is titled ‘Constitution of India’ in English and ‘Bharat ka Samvidhan’ in Hindi. It is ‘Reserve Bank of India’…why is it like this? Why do we have to do this everywhere? Such a question should be raised. It should be rectified. If the country’s name is Bharat, it should only be called that way,” he asserted.