NEW DELHI: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Tuesday reiterated that Hindu families should consider having at least three children.Addressing a social-harmony meeting at the Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Lucknow, Bhagwat expressed concerns over what he described as a declining Hindu population and called for uniting and empowering the Hindu society.”There is a need to unite and empower Hindus. There is no threat to us but vigilance is necessary,” Bhagwat said.Raising concerns over infiltration, Bhagwat said infiltrators should be “detected, deleted and deported”, and should not be provided employment.He also said Hindu families should consider having at least three children, citing scientific opinions that societies with an average fertility rate of below three could disappear in the future.Bhagwat said newly-married couples should be made aware of this and added that the purpose of marriage is to carry forward creation, not merely fulfilling one’s own desires.He said a lack of harmony leads to discrimination and stressed that all citizens share one country and one motherland.”The Sanatan thought is a philosophy of harmony,” Bhagwat said, adding that differences that have emerged over time must be addressed through understanding and practice. Responding to a question on University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, Bhagwat said laws must be obeyed and if a law is flawed, there are constitutional ways to change it.He said caste divisions should not become a cause of conflict and called for uplifting the disadvantaged with a sense of belonging.Bhagwat said India would guide the world in the near future and that solutions to many global problems lie within the country’s civilisational ethos.He said regular community-level meetings should promote social harmony, remove misconceptions and address social issues, while extending support to the weaker sections of the society.The RSS chief cautioned that some elements in the United States and China are working against India’s social harmony, and called for vigilance and mutual trust.
