- RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat compares PoK to a room in a house called India, occupied by strangers
- Bhagwat states India must reclaim what rightfully belongs to it
- RSS chief's comment follows tensions in PoK due to locals rising against Pakistani rule
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has called Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) a room in a house called India, but one in which strangers have moved in. The room has to be taken back, he said at an event in Madhya Pradesh's Satna, according to news agency ANI.
"Many Sindhi brothers are sitting here. I am very happy. They did not go to Pakistan; they went to undivided India. Circumstances have sent us here from that home because that home and this home are not different," Bhagwat, who heads the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), said, drawing huge applause from the audience.
"The whole of India is one home, but someone has removed one room of our house where my table, chair, and clothes used to be kept. They have occupied it. Tomorrow, I have to take it back..." he said as the audience clapped in agreement.
The RSS chief's comment comes amid tension in PoK due to locals rising up against Pakistani rule. Thousands of PoK residents rallied around the banner of the Awami Action Committee (AAC) to demand economic relief and political reforms.
Over the last three days, 10 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in PoK after Pakistani forces clashed with protesters. In Dhirkot (Bagh district) alone, four protesters were shot dead, while fatalities were also reported from PoK's Muzaffarabad, Dadyal (Mirpur), and Chamyati near Kohala.
The Pakistani establishment's reliance on repression over dialogue has worsened tension in the strategically sensitive region, analysts said.
The protests against Pakistani rule by PoK residents have exposed the falsehood that Islamabad has been peddling since 1947, experts said. They have also unmasked those who, for decades, mischievously amplified anti-India propaganda regarding the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
On Thursday, the RSS chief had spoken about the need for increasing security capabilities. He said the international response to the Pahalgam terror attack showed the true nature of India's global friendships.
The responses of other countries were a test of "who our friends are in the global arena and to what extent they are willing to stand by us," Bhagwat said, adding India's political leadership and the military delivered a "fitting response" which showcased the firmness of the leadership, valour of the armed forces, and determination and unity of society.
This latest wave of protests in PoK underscored rising disconnect between PoK residents and Islamabad, with critics warning of growing instability. The Pakistani establishment's reliance on repression over dialogue has only worsened tensions in the strategically sensitive region.
