Traditional thought should be beacon for policies: Mohan Bhagwat

“…Today, the world talks about the environment, about sustainable development. We have already done it… if we had used fertilisers for 10,000 to 12,000 years, we wouldn’t have left our land fit for agriculture… Africa required specific regulations to be put in place after 400 years… but not us… we required such regulations after we left our traditional procedure,” he said.

Amid the turbulence over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the H1-B visa fee, Bhagwat said that the prevalent system was about “us-vs-them”. Recalling that before Trump’s presidency, an American met him and listed areas where India and the US could cooperate, but each time added: “Provided American interests are protected”.

Agreeing with Bhagwat, Rajiv Kumar said, “… It is important to now change this… there are suggestions regarding this… Can we make a curriculum where those getting admitted in medical (MBBS) study everything for the first two years and then, in the third year, decide whether to pursue unani or ayurveda or modern medicine.”

“This is so that there is no longer the impression that those who have not done MBBS are useless. We have to factor in our natural cultural heritage in this regard and that is the only way we will be able to reap its harvest,” he said.

Noting that science and technology has made lives more comfortable, Bhagwat said that their impact would depend upon how they are used.

He said if India treads the “global fashionable path”, it will be in the company of powerful nations for its size and population. But he urged that the country gradually take its own path in a calibrated manner as a middle path was required. To reject or accept everything is both wrong, he said and called for aligning India’s traditional worldview with changing needs and times.