On Vijayadashami 1998 (1 October 1998), Rajendra Singh gave the annual address at the gathering in Nagpur, where the chief guest was Joginder Singh (presided). This page summarises what was reported about it.
The day
- Date: 1 October 1998
- Place: Nagpur
- Address by: Rajendra Singh (the head of the organisation at the time was Prof. Rajendra Singh)
- Chief guest: Joginder Singh (former CBI director), who presided
What the address covered
Rajendra Singh's 45-minute address praised the Vajpayee government, calling the May 1998 nuclear tests its most significant achievement. He also welcomed its Hindi speech at the UN. He said the Coimbatore blasts exposed internal-security lapses and Pakistani ISI inroads, and demanded the expulsion of Bangladeshi infiltrators. On the economy he warned that consumer brands were not 'reform' and that agriculture and cottage industries must not be neglected. He also criticised corruption, English-dominated education and 'cultural invasion' via television.
As reported
Drinking Coca-Cola or Pepsi and wearing Peter England shirts should not be mistaken for reforms
Context
First Vijayadashami with a BJP-led government at the Centre. US and Japanese embassy officials attended for the first time. Singh claimed edible-oil (dropsy) adulteration was a conspiracy to defame the government.
How sure is this?
This account rests mainly on one source, listed below; details may be incomplete.
In the archive
Sources & copyright status
- Rediff On The Net (UNI), 'RSS wants Bangladeshis, English driven out' (3 Oct 1998), Wayback Machine copy
- Historical facts: not subject to copyright. Quotations are short extracts as reported in the sources cited; speeches are summarised in our own words.
- Commentary and translations on this page: original to The Hindu Book. © The Hindu Book, all rights reserved.
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