Mohan Bhagwat

Mohan Bhagwat (born 11 September 1950) is the Sarsanghchalak (Chief) of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) based in India. He was chosen as the successor to K. S. Sudarshan in March 2009.

Mohan Bhagwat
Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 March 2009
Preceded by	K. S. Sudarshan
Personal details
Born	(1950-09-11) 11 September 1950 Chandrapur, Bombay State, India (present-day Maharashtra)[1]
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Government Veterinary College, Nagpur
Occupation	Sarsanghchalak (Chief of the RSS)

Early life

Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat was born in a Marathi family in Chandrapur, then Bombay State of India.[2][1][3] He comes from a family of RSS activists.[1] His father Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, was the Karyavah (secretary) for the Chandrapur zone and later a Prant Pracharak (provincial promoter) for Gujarat.[1] His mother Malati was a member of the RSS Women’s Wing.[4]

Bhagwat completed his schooling from 'Lokmanya Tilak Vidyalaya' and then the first year of his BSc from the Janata College in Chandrapur. He graduated in Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry from Government Veterinary College, Nagpur. He dropped out of his postgraduate course in Veterinary Sciences and became a pracharak (full-time promoter/worker) of the RSS towards the end of 1975.[1]

Association with RSS

After working underground during the Emergency, Bhagwat became the 'Pracharak' of Akola in Maharashtra in 1977 and rose within the organisation responsible for Nagpur and Vidarbha regions.[1]

He became 'Akhil Bharatiya Sharirik Pramukh,' (in-charge of physical training) for India, 1991 to 1999. He was further promoted as 'Akhil Bharatiya Pracharak Pramukh,' (in-charge of RSS volunteers working full-time for India).

In 2000, when Rajendra Singh and H. V. Sheshadri decided to step down as RSS Chief and General Secretary respectively due to poor health, K. S. Sudarshan was nominated as the new chief and Bhagwat became 'Sarkaryavah,' (General Secretary).

Bhagwat was chosen as the Sarsanghchalak (Chief Executive) of the RSS on 21 March 2009. He is one of the youngest leaders to head the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh after K. B. Hedgewar and M. S. Golwalkar.[1]

In June 2015, due to a high threat perception from various Islamic terrorist organisations,[5] the government of India ordered the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide Bhagwat with round-the-clock protection. At Z+ VVIP security cover, Bhagwat is one of the most protected Indians today.[6]

In November 2016, while addressing a ‘Prerna Shibir’ on the 80th anniversary of Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the women’s wing of the RSS, Mohan Bhagwat said that Homo sapiens ate into the space of other species of genus Homo, like Homo floresiensis and Neanderthals, in the past, but even Homo sapiens could go extinct in the next thousand years.[7]

In September 2018, Mohan Bhagwat said that RSS has discarded some parts of M. S. Golwalkar’s “Bunch of Thoughts” which are no longer relevant to the current circumstances.[8]

Awards and recognition

In 2017, the state-run Animal and Fishery Sciences University awarded Mohan Bhagwat with an honorary doctor of science (DSc) degree during its convocation ceremony in Nagpur.[9]

References

1. IANS (21 March 2009). "Mohan Bhagwat: A vet, RSS pracharak for over 30 years". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
2. India Today, Volume 34, Issues 9-17. Thomson Living Media India Limited. 2009. p. 21. Born on September 11, 1950, in a Karhade Brahmin family in Chandrapur, Maharashtra, he began his career as a veterinary officer. His father, Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, was a close associate of Hedgewar and M.S. Golwalkar
3. Saba Naqvi (26 November 2012). "A Thread That Holds". Outlook. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
4. Pavan Dahat (29 April 2017). "Who is Mohan Bhagwat?". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
5. ET Bureau (8 June 2015). "RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat gets 'Z+' VVIP security cover". The Economic Times. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
6. HT Correspondent (8 June 2015). "RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat gets Z+ VVIP security cover". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
7. "Indian Way of Life Only Option Left for World: RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat".
8. "RSS has discarded chunks of Golwalkar's thoughts".
9. Pradip Kumar Maitra (7 March 2017). "RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to get honorary doctorate in veterinary sciences". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 16 April 2018.

Preceded by K. S. Sudarshan	Sarsanghchalak of the RSS 21 March 2009 –	Succeeded by Incumbent