
Mohan Bhagwat
Introduction
About
MOHAN BHAGWAT
Mohan Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, born on 11 September, 1950, is an Indian political activist and veterinarian who has been serving as the 6th and current Sarsanghchalak (Chief) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since 2009. Born into a Marathi Karhade Brahmin family in Chandrapur, then part of British-ruled India, Bhagwat comes from a family deeply involved in the RSS. His father, Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, was a key figure in the RSS, serving as the Karyavah (secretary) for the Chandrapur zone and later as a Prant Pracharak (provincial promoter) for Gujarat. His mother, Malati, was a member of the RSS Women's Wing.
Bhagwat completed his schooling at Lokmanya Tilak Vidyalaya and studied for a year at Janata College in Chandrapur before graduating in Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry from Government Veterinary College, Nagpur. He dropped out of his postgraduate course to become a full-time Pracharak (promoter/worker) for the RSS in 1975.
After working underground during the Emergency, Bhagwat became the Pracharak of Akola in Maharashtra in 1977 and subsequently rose within the organization to oversee the Nagpur and Vidarbha regions. From 1991 to 1999, he served as the Akhil Bharatiya Sharirik Pramukh (in-charge of physical training) for India, and later as the Akhil Bharatiya Pracharak Pramukh (in-charge of RSS volunteers working full-time across India).
In 2000, when Rajendra Singh and H. V. Sheshadri stepped down as RSS Chief and general secretary, K. S. Sudarshan was nominated as the new chief, and Bhagwat became Sarkaryavah (general secretary). Bhagwat was chosen as the Sarsanghchalak of the RSS on 21 March 2009, becoming one of the youngest leaders to head the organization after K. B. Hedgewar and M. S. Golwalkar.
Due to a high threat perception from various Islamic terrorist organizations, the Indian government ordered the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to provide Bhagwat with round-the-clock protection in June 2015, granting him Z+ VVIP security cover. In 2017, Bhagwat made history as the first RSS Chief to be officially invited to the Rashtrapati Bhawan by then-President Pranab Mukherjee. In September 2018, he presided over a three-day session at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi, where he acknowledged that the RSS had discarded some parts of M. S. Golwalkar's "Bunch of Thoughts" that were no longer relevant.
In November 2016, during the 80th anniversary of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, Bhagwat made a remark about the potential extinction of Homo sapiens, drawing parallels with other species of the genus Homo. In September 2017, he stated that Hinduism was the only true religion and other religions were sects that emerged from Hinduism. In November 2021, Bhagwat expressed opposition to the partition of India and advocated for reunification. In October 2022, he emphasized the need for family planning and addressing population imbalances. In January 2023, Bhagwat advocated support for the LGBT community, recognizing it as a biological aspect of life. In June 2024, he urged the Modi government to resolve the issue of the Manipur riots.
In recognition of his contributions, the state-run Animal and Fishery Sciences University awarded Bhagwat an honorary doctor of science (D.Sc.) degree during its 2017 convocation ceremony in Nagpur.
Date of Birth: 11th September, 1950
Place of Birth: Chandrapur