NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said the true spirit of Swadeshi was the nation’s policy to engage internationally by choice and not under pressure.“Self-reliance is the key to everything. Our country must be self-reliant. For self-reliance, priority should be given to the use of indigenous products. The nation’s policy should engage internationally by choice, not under pressure. That is the true spirit of swadeshi,” Bhagwat said, addressing a lecture series here to mark the centenary of the RSS.“Being aatmnirbhar (self-reliant) does not mean stopping imports. The world moves because it is interdependent. So export-import will continue. However, there should be no pressure in it,” Bhagwat said.He said swadeshi does not mean not importing goods that the country already has or can manufacture easily.“Bringing goods from outside hurts local vendors,” he said.Bhagwat’s remarks came on a day when the additional 25 per cent tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on India for its purchases of Russian oil came into effect.“Whatever is made in your country, there is no need to import it from outside. Whatever is necessary for life and is not made in your country, we will import it from outside.“The country’s policy should be done voluntarily, one should not go under pressure. This is swadeshi,” Bhagwat said. The RSS chief said the fanaticism has increased in the current world order as people tend to cancel those who speak against their views.“After the First World War, the League of Nations was formed. The Second World War still happened. UN was formed. The third world war will not happen like that. But it is not happening, we cannot say this today. There is unrest in the world, conflicts. Fanaticism has increased. People who want that there should be no decency, no sanskar in life. They propagate this fanaticism. We will cancel whoever speaks against our views,” he said.Calling wokeism a big crisis, Bhagwat said the guardians of all the countries are worried. “The new words that have come wokeism etc. This is a very big crisis. It is on all the countries, on the next generation. The guardians of all the countries are worried. The elders are worried. Why? Because there is no connection…Dharma is beyond worship, food, etc. The religion on top of religion that runs all religions is Dharma, it accepts diversity. That Dharma teaches a balance,” he said.
