Hindus respect and accept all: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat highlights India’s tradition of diversity

Mangalore Today News Network

Toronto, Aug 31, 2026: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said Hinduism cannot be confined to any particular language, form of worship or way of life, describing such differences as part of the diversity inherent in human society.

Speaking at the Hindu Vishwa Bandhu – Embrace the World in Friendship event in Toronto, Bhagwat said Hindus respect and accept all forms of diversity. He also said India had historically provided refuge to people persecuted in different parts of the world and had even accommodated those who arrived as “aggressors”.

“Many came to Bharat from outside as aggressors, but they still thrive there, with all their specialties intact. They are now Bharatiya citizens. Muslims are there, Christians are there. Jews are there in small numbers because many migrated from Israel. Parsis are there. Many people come to Bharat for asylum,” he said.

Bhagwat said providing asylum to people facing persecution anywhere in the world had been part of India’s tradition.

Explaining what he described as India’s civilisational outlook, he said the principle of recognising unity despite differences was embedded in the “DNA of Bharat”.

“This is our tradition, the DNA of Bharat. That is why you may have heard the saying, ‘If Hindus awaken, the world awakens’,” he said.

Bhagwat said Hindus were taught to see unity in diversity and that diversity had never been viewed as a barrier to unity in India. Instead, he said, diversity itself was regarded as a form of unity.

He also invoked the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, saying that despite differences in physical appearance and complexion, people were fundamentally one. Serving others, he added, was both a duty and a source of lasting happiness and contentment.

Bhagwat further said India had a long tradition of helping those in need, whether assistance was sought or offered voluntarily.

Describing India’s emergence as a “Vishwaguru”, Bhagwat said the country did not achieve that position by becoming a conventional global power.

“One may call Bharat a superpower, but it was not one. It served the world and by its own character, it became ‘Vishwaguru’, not Mahashakti,” he said.