‘In America, behave true to America’: Mohan Bhagwat tells Indian diaspora to fulfil duty to ‘karma bhumi’

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat said in New York City on Saturday that India is the 'janma bhumi' (land of birth) of the Indian diaspora, but the country they live in is their 'karma bhumi' (land of duty), and they must prioritise their responsibilities and remain loyal to the country where they reside.

The RSS leader was speaking at the ‘Universal Oneness Celebration’ at Madison Square Garden in New York.

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First duty towards 'karma bhumi': RSS chief

Bhagwat said Indians living in the United States should live as responsible Americans while retaining the values they received from their ‘janma bhumi’.

"What is our duty? We are in America, we live in America, we earn in America. So we are American. And we should behave true to America. The diaspora, Bharatiya diaspora, they have a duty to their karma bhumi. They must fulfil that. They should be loyal to their karma bhumi," he added.

He said their bond with India as their ‘janma bhumi’ would continue, but any effort to help their country of birth should come only after they have fulfilled their responsibilities towards their ‘karma bhumi’.

"Because Bharat is their janma bhumi, if they have an urge to do something and they can do that, after fulfilling their duties to their karma bhumi, it is not prohibited. But it is not obligatory," the RSS chief said.

He said the diaspora's responsibility towards India is to uphold the values they received from their motherland, with oneness being one of the key principles.

"Your janma bhumi expects you to live the values it has imparted on you. And this is the value. This is the value, oneness. We are one with human beings. We are one with nature," Bhagwat said.

Row over Bhagwat's US visit

Bhagwat's visit to the United States has sparked opposition from several people, including New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani and members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Civil society groups in the US have accused the RSS of promoting religious discrimination and violence against Muslim and Christian minorities in India.

Addressing such concerns at Saturday's event, Bhagwat said the RSS does not support leaving out any minority community.

“If any Hindu thinks that there should be no Muslim in Bharat, he will not remain Hindu. If you want to call yourself Hindu, you must believe that all paths are leading to the same goal,” he said.