Our 5,000-year-old culture is secular: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

New Delhi: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said India's 5,000-year-old culture is secular and called upon people to remain united and present the best example of human behaviour before the world.

Addressing a book launch event on Wednesday, Bhagwat appealed to people to have devotion, love and dedication for their motherland. "We consider motherland as an essential component of our national unity," he said.

Referring to his interaction with Pranab Mukherjee at a meeting with him during the "ghar wapasi" controversy a few years ago, Bhagwat recalled, "He said 'Bharat's constitution is secular'. He paused for some time and then said 'we are secular not just because of our Constitution but also because the tall leaders who drafted the Constitution were secular'.

"He paused again for a minute and then said again 'we are not secular since then. Our 5000-year-old culture is like this'," Bhagwat recalled, having been told by the former president.

India has been a secular nation for 5,000 years, the RSS chief asserted.

"Our 5,000-year-old culture is secular..it is so. In all tatva gyan (knowledge of elements), this is the conclusion. The whole world is one family, this is our feeling. This is not a theory... know it, realise it and then behave accordingly," he said at the event to launch 'Prithvi Sookta - An Ode To Mother Earth', authored by senior RSS functionary Ranga Hari.

"There is so much diversity in the country. Don't fight with each other. Make your country capable of teaching the world that we are one," Bhagwat said, adding this is the sole purpose of India's existence.

The RSS chief said seers created 'Bharat' for the welfare of the world. They created a society and passed on their knowledge to the last person, he said.

"They were not 'sanyasis' only. They lived the lives of wanderers with their families. All these 'ghumantoos' (nomads) are still there whom the British had declared as criminal tribes... They are often seen showcasing their culture in society, some share knowledge on the ayurveda," he said.

"Our people went across the world taking the knowledge, from Mexico to Siberia," he added.

Hence, it is no surprise that India turned the G20, which is mainly a forum to deliberate on economic issues, into one that thinks about humanity, Bhagwat said, adding, "By giving it the feeling of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', we made it a forum that thinks about humans." Addressing the event, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said unity is India's biggest ideal.