Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat

**Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat** (; born 11 September 1950) is an Indian veterinarian (animal doctor) and political leader. He is the sixth and current _Sarsanghchalak_ (Chief) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The RSS is a right-wing Hindutva group in India. Bhagwat has been its leader since 2009.

## Early life

Mohan Madhukar Bhagwat was born in Chandrapur, India. He was born into a Marathi Karhade Brahmin family. At that time, Chandrapur was in Madhya Pradesh, but today it is in Maharashtra.

His family had worked with the RSS for a long time. His father, Madhukar Rao Bhagwat, was a leader (_Karyavah_) for the Chandrapur zone. Later, his father worked to promote the RSS in Gujarat. His mother, Malati, was a member of the RSS Women's Wing.

Bhagwat went to school at Lokmanya Tilak Vidyalaya. He studied science for one year at Janata College in Chandrapur. Then, he went to Government Veterinary College in Nagpur. There, he graduated in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry. He started a more advanced course (postgraduate) but stopped to work full-time for the RSS. He became a _Pracharak_ (full-time worker) in late 1975.

## Work with the RSS

In 1975, the Indian government declared a state of Emergency. During this time, Bhagwat worked in secret. In 1977, he became the leader for the Akola region in Maharashtra. Over time, he got higher positions in the RSS. He became responsible for the Nagpur and Vidarbha regions.

On 21 March 2009, Bhagwat was chosen as the _Sarsanghchalak_ (Chief) of the RSS. He succeeded K. S. Sudarshan. Bhagwat is one of the youngest people to lead the RSS after K. B. Hedgewar and M. S. Golwalkar.

In 2017, he became the first RSS Chief to be officially invited to the Rashtrapati Bhawan (the President's house). The President at that time was Pranab Mukherjee.

In September 2018, Bhagwat spoke at a three-day meeting at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi. He wanted to explain the RSS to more people. He said that the RSS has stopped following some parts of M. S. Golwalkar's book, _Bunch of Thoughts_. He said those parts are not useful for today's times.

## Ideas and beliefs

In February 2017, Bhagwat spoke at a rally in Madhya Pradesh. He said, "Everyone born in the country is a Hindu." He explained that some Hindus worship idols and some do not. He believes that even Muslims in India are "Hindus by nationality" and are only Muslims by faith. Later that year, he said that Hinduism is the "only true religion in the world." He said other religions are just groups that came from Hinduism.

Bhagwat also talks about "love jihad". This is a belief held by some Hindutva supporters. They think that Muslim men trick Hindu women into marriage to convert them to Islam. They say this is a "demographic war" (a war to change population numbers). Many experts call this an Islamophobic conspiracy theory.

In 2019, he said the RSS does not follow just one ideology (system of ideas). He said the main belief of the RSS is that India is a "Hindu Rashtra" (Hindu Nation). He said this belief cannot be changed. However, he also said the RSS is not limited to any specific book, including Golwalkar's writings.

In November 2021, Bhagwat said he did not like the Partition of India (the division of India in 1947). He supports the reunification of the Indian subcontinent. He said the only way to fix the pain of Partition is to undo it.

In January 2025, Bhagwat spoke about the new Ram Temple in Ayodhya. It was built on the site of the Babri Masjid (Babri Mosque). The mosque was destroyed in 1992. Bhagwat said that India got its "true independence" when the temple was opened (consecrated).

## Award

In 2017, the Animal and Fishery Sciences University in Nagpur gave Mohan Bhagwat an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

## Bibliography

- _Yashaswi Bharat_. Prabhat Prakashan, 2021

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Mohan Bhagwat
- **image**: Dr._mohan_rao_Bhagwat1.jpg
- **caption**: Bhagwat at an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS event
- **office**: 6th Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
- **predecessor**: K. S. Sudarshan
- **successor**: incumbent
- **birth place**: Chandrapur, Madhya Pradesh (now Maharashtra), India
- **relations**: Madhukar Rao Bhagwat (father)

Malati (mother)
- **alma mater**: Nagpur Veterinary College (B.V.Sc.)
- **occupation**: Sarsanghchalak, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS