“The term ‘Hindu’ covers all those who are the sons of Bharat Mata, descendants of Indian ancestors and who live in accordance with the Indian culture,” he says.

Hindustan is a country of Hindus, but it does not mean that it does not belong to others, according to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Addressing a gathering of college-going RSS volunteers in Indore on Friday, he said the government alone cannot bring development, and that it needed changes in society.

“Whose country is Germany?... It is a country of Germans, Britain is a country of Britishers, America is a country of Americans, and in the same way Hindustan is a country of Hindus. It does not mean that Hindustan is not the country of other people,” he said.

“The term ‘Hindu’ covers all those who are the sons of Bharat Mata [Mother India], descendants of Indian ancestors and who live in accordance with the Indian culture.” No one leader or party can make the country great but it needs a change and we will have to prepare society for it, he said.

“In ancient times, people used to look to god for development, but in Kaliyuga people look to the government... But the fact is, the government can go only as far as society goes,” he said.

“Society is the father of the government. The government can serve society, but it cannot bring changes in society. When society brings changes in itself, this change reflects in the government and the system,” he observed.

To make India powerful, prosperous and a “vishwa guru”, the countrymen will have to rid their hearts of the thought of “discrimination on any grounds”, he added.