Mohan Bhagwat, the supremo of the RSS, met with Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, the chief of the All India Imam Organization, at the latter’s office in Delhi on Thursday. Bhagwat also reached out to several Muslim intellectuals and met with madrassa students while visiting the Madarsa Tajweedul Quran in north Delhi. 

Bhagwat’s move to reach out to Muslim organisations came amidst NIA and ED raids at Popular Front of India offices in 10 states. More than 100 members of the PFI were detained during the raids over charges of terror funding and money laundering. 

Also read: PFI calls dawn-to-dusk strike in Kerala to protest NIA raids

During the meeting with Ilyasi, the chief cleric called Bhagwat the “rashtra pita” of India, the PTI reported. 

Who is Mohan Bhagwat? 

Mohan Bhagwat is currently serving as the sixth Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swamsevak Sangh- the main organisation of the Sangh Parivar which houses multiple Hindutva outfits, including the BJP. 

Bhagwat was born on September 11, 1950, in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. His father was one of the earliest members of the RSS, while his mother was part of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti – the women’s wing of the RSS. Bhagwat’s bachelor’s degree was in Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry. 

He signed up for a post-graduate course after completing his bachelor’s but dropped out to join the RSS full-time towards the end of 1975, according to a Hindustan Times report from April 2018. Since joining the RSS, Bhagwat quickly rose within the ranks to become the general secretary when K. S. Sudarshan became the chief in 2000. 

RSS follows a process of nomination for the position of the Sarsanghchalak where the incumbent chief nominates his successor. In 2009, when Bhagwat was 59 years old, he was appointed the RSS chief. 

Also read: Mohan Bhagwat is ‘rashtra pita’: Top Muslim cleric after meeting RSS chief

Kingshuk Nag, the Indian author and an editor with the Times of India, has compiled a biography of Mohan Bhagwat. The 2018 book, titled ‘Mohan Bhagwat: The Influencer-in-Chief’, outlines the power that the RSS supremo has over the functioning of the Indian state. 

Nag has said in the book that Bhagwat has played a key role in bringing Modi to power in 2014. He claimed in 2018 that if Modi comes to power in the 2019 elections, he can do so only with the support of the Bhagwat and the RSS. In June 2022, Mohan Bhagwat claimed that India would be a Hindu nation by 2025.