Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat on 30 August declared that politics has become a 'game of self-interest', arguing that meaningful and lasting change must be rooted in society before it can shape governments or public policy. He was speaking at the 'One World, One Humanity' programme in New York, addressing an audience of religious leaders from across the world.

What Bhagwat Said

'These things do not happen through politics. Sorry to say, but the fact is, politics has now become a game of self-interest,' Bhagwat said, in remarks that drew a clear line between political action and genuine social transformation. He added that the overemphasis on individual interests had made it increasingly difficult to bridge deep social divisions.

Offering an alternative framework, he said collective thinking was the only viable path forward. 'Where there is me, I am I. There is no solution. We and ours is the solution,' he said. He stressed that the process of change must begin at the societal level — 'our experience in Bharat is that we have to start with the society.'

On Influencing Politics and Preventing Wars

Bhagwat acknowledged that religious leaders ultimately seek to shape political decisions — to prevent wars and steer governments toward responsible policies. However, he cautioned that such influence cannot be built by engaging politics directly at the outset.

'We want to change, influence the policies before they happen, influence them in the right way. We want to stop wars, we want to do all these things,' he said. 'Therefore we want to influence the politics. We have to at some point of time. But we cannot start with those.'

Instead, he said the foundation must be public opinion, built through dialogue, service, and practical examples of cooperation. 'Politics today, especially in democracy, it depends on the public view,' he said. 'If there is public opinion, then no politician will dare to go against it.'

A Call for Grassroots Interfaith Engagement

Bhagwat urged participants to carry their shared commitments back to their home countries and begin working within local communities. He called for interfaith dialogue to move beyond senior religious leadership and reach communities at the provincial, district, and block levels.

'If we start at this level and start instructing our own people and then try to have this dialogue in all the countries, in the provinces of those countries, district level, block level, if you go like that, then the atmosphere will change,' he said.

He also called on communities to develop working models of the kind of world they wished to build, and to sustain the dialogue that connects those efforts. 'We should create at our own place the models of the world we want. And we should connect. We should keep on this dialogue,' he said.

A Long Road Ahead

Bhagwat was candid about the scale of the challenge, cautioning that shifting public attitudes would be neither quick nor easy. He argued that knowledge alone was insufficient unless it translated into daily conduct and practice.

'If we together start working, we can change the situation of the world,' he said. 'But it will take long time. It is not so easy to clean up public mind.'

Mohan Bhagwat has led the RSS as its Sarsanghchalak — the organisation's highest-ranking office — since 2009. Founded in Nagpur in 1925 by K.B. Hedgewar, the RSS marked its centenary in 2025. It describes itself as a volunteer-based cultural organisation with a nationwide network of branches and affiliated bodies. Bhagwat's New York address signals the organisation's intent to project its social philosophy on a global interfaith platform.