Jaipur, Aug. 13 -- Amid the ongoing political sparring over the state of democracy in the country, intensified recently by Opposition Congress, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat asserted that India's democratic fabric remains strong and globally exemplary. Speaking at an event, Bhagwat recalled that after Independence, many had predicted democracy would not survive in India. "Democracy not only survived, but when it faced crises, people resisted such threats and safeguarded it," he said. "Today, India is astonishingly ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to democratic values." "But today, India is rising and making its presence in the world despite the big powers. Some people had predicted that democracy would not be able to function in India after independence. Today, when we talk about democracy, India is ahead of many countries of the world," he added. He said that India is a country that imparts religion to the world and wishes for the welfare of the entire globe. All scriptures are contained in the Vedas here, and the penance of sages has infused strength and vitality into the nation. Dr Bhagwat was speaking on Tuesday at the "Shri Siyapiya Milan Samaroh" organised at Shri Jankinath Bada Mandir, Revasa Dham in Rajasthan's Sikar district, on the first death anniversary of the late Revasa Peethadheeshwar Swami Raghavacharya Vedanti Maharaj. The RSS chief said that even before recorded history had opened its eyes, Bharat and its Hindu society had been showing the world the path of truth, dharma, and spirituality, and working for the welfare of humanity. He said this tradition has continued since time immemorial. There have been many ups and downs - times of independence and prosperity, and times of poverty, subjugation, and oppression. Yet, this work has never stopped. Whenever the world has particularly needed it, India has risen. "Today, we see that-unexpectedly, if we look at our post-Independence history-no one could argue on historical grounds that Bharat would rise again. But Bharat is indeed rising and securing its place in the world," he said. He said that truth is one-it is the universal form, which appears in various forms. Falsehood lasts only for a while; ultimately, everything merges back into the one. That is why we find such teachings in the stories of our saints. The sages and seers realised that all are one, all are our own. The great honour that we have received must be shared with the entire world. But to give this to the whole world, a single individual is not enough; for this, an entire nation must make it the mission of its life and live by it. With this very purpose, the sages, through their penance, shaped this nation, he added. "We are seeing it today that every time the world is in need, India rises. If we look at our country's history after independence, based on that history, no one could say that India will rise," Bhagwat said while speaking at an event in Sikar in Rajasthan. Bhagwat's remarks came as the Opposition parties are intensifying their charge that the BJP-led centre is undermining democracy in the country by electoral fraud in connivance with the Election Commission. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had alleged "vote theft" in the 2024 general election. The Opposition parties also demand the rollback of the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in the poll-bound Bihar. They allege that the exercise would disenfranchise a large section of society....