Those displaced by Partition are warriors of struggle, not refugees: Mohan Bhagwat

Nagpur,UPDATED: Jul 2, 2026 10:30 IST

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Wednesday said people who came to India after the 1947 Partition should not be described as refugees, but as "warriors of struggle" who endured hardship and pain out of love for their motherland and faith. He said they left behind their wealth, land and businesses built over generations in the newly created Pakistan and chose to come to India.

Addressing the 75th Foundation Day programme of the Sindhu Education Society in Nagpur, Bhagwat said those who crossed over after Partition did so consciously because they wanted to live in Bharat and practise their religion without fear.

He also spoke about perseverance in difficult times and said education should go beyond jobs and help build values and social awareness.

"They were not refugees, though they were displaced, it was a wrong term used for them at that time. They were warriors (sangharshrath yodha) who struggled out of love for their motherland, out of love for their faith. They lost a battle, not because of their own faults alone," Bhagwat said.

"We, all of us, lost that battle to keep India united. But what did they choose? They did not choose a career, they did not choose wealth. They chose the country, they chose their faith (dharma)," he added.

Referring to the Sindhu Education Society's 75-year journey, Bhagwat said such milestones offer an opportunity to review the work done by an institution and recall its goals. Speaking about life's hardships, he said people should not give up in adverse circumstances but try to rise again.

"One should not become helpless before circumstances or fate. A person who makes efforts (to come out of difficult times) is the one who ultimately succeeds, while the one who runs away from difficulties has already accepted defeat," he told the gathering.

Bhagwat said that while education for employment is important, it should not become the ultimate goal. He said value-based education is needed to develop the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and that such learning comes not only from textbooks but also from the conduct of teachers and the values they pass on to students.

He added that the real purpose of education is to create good human beings and a generation aware of the welfare of society. In his address, Bhagwat linked the experience of those who came to India after Partition with the need for resilience, values and social responsibility.

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