New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) announced through a tweet on Thursday, that mountaineer Padma Shri Santosh Yadav will be the chief guest at the annual RSS Vijayadashmi festival, becoming the first woman in the history to be a chief guest at an RSS event.
The event will be organized at Reshimbagh Maidan in Nagpur on October 5 and will be inaugurated by RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, said RSS in a tweet.
Mountaineer Santosh Yadav gained global recognition when she scaled Mount Everest twice. Her feat also put India in the global map. She was the youngest woman in the world to climb the Everest in her first summit climb in 1992. The following year, in 1993, she joined an Indo-Nepalese Women’s expedition to the world’s tallest peak, climbing it successfully to set the world record of becoming the first woman in the world to scale Mount Everest twice.
From a technical perspective, Yadav is the first woman to successfully climb Mount Everest from Kangshung Face, the eastern-facing side of the peak, one of the Chinese sides of Mount Everest known for being a tougher, even deadly climb. The summit climb from this side consists of the upper part of the face composed of hanging glaciers and the lower part consisting of steep rock buttresses and couloirs in-between. It is also the most remote face of Mount Everest and a road less travelled by mountaineers as the route to the top is longer compared to the other standard routes, North Col and South Col.
More than her splendid, record breaking feat it was her attitude that won her respect and love. Like an ideal team player she was also mindful of others. During her 1992 Everest mission, in the oxygen scarce environment, she helped another climber by sharing her oxygen with him. She has also led mountaineering expeditions to Kangshung Face. For her many contributions to the field of mountaineering in India, Yadav was awarded the National Adventure Award in 1994, now known as the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award, India’s highest adventure sports honour. She was also awarded the Padma Shri in 2000.
The RSS event earlier hosed Kailash Satyarthi as the chief guest at the RSS event on 18th October 2018.
The Vijayadashmi program is considered to be of great significance for RSS, as the Sangh was founded on this very day back in 1925.
Shri Mohan Bhagwat will also address the RSS Swayamsevaks after the Puja ceremony. The speech holds great significance as it serves as the guidelines for the Swayamsevaks.
Last year, the Vijayadashmi program of RSS was done in restricted numbers only, due to the COVID restrictions.
