RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat and Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale inaugurated the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) 2025 by paying respects to Bharat Mata. The three-day (March 21, 22 & 23) meetings commenced with tributes to those who left for their heavenly abode in the last year, including RSS functionaries, Karyakartas, and notable personalities of the nation and society, such as Swami Pranavandan of Kollam, former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, renowned Tabla player Zakir Hussain, thinker and social leader Vasudev Nayyar, filmmaker Shyam Benegal, poet Pritish Nandy, senior political leader S M Krishna, Ram Janmabhoomi Trust member Kameshwar Chaupal, senior RSS Pracharak Shankar Tatwawadi, economist Bibek Debroy, and many more.
The annual report (Karyavritta) of the last year (2024-25) of the Sangh has been presented and will be discussed in the Baithak. Along with a critical analysis of it, reporting on special initiatives of the last year by various Prants and units of the Sangh will also be done.
Addressing the media following the inaugural, RSS Sah-Sarkaryavah Mukunda CR stated that a total of 1,482 representatives from different Prants of the country are participating in the meeting and will present reports on the work done in their respective areas. They will include details of initiatives, special programmes, and an analysis of the groundwork undertaken.
The Sah-Sarkaryavah highlighted the organisation’s achievements and expansion over the past year. “RSS activities take place at 51,710 locations everyday and daily activities and 21,936 are weekly activities. The number of daily RSS Shakhas increased to 83,129 (10,000 more than last year), while the number of weekly Shakhas has risen to 32,147 (4,000 more than last year). The combined total of daily and weekly activities stands at 1,15,276,” he said.
“RSS is also focusing on rural areas, with a total of 58,981 rural Mandals, out of which 30,770 have daily Shakhas, marking an increase of 3,050 compared to the previous year. Weekly activities stand at 9,200, bringing the total to 39,970, covering 67 per cent of Mandals,” he informed.
“To mark the RSS centenary, 2,453 Swayamsevaks have left their homes for two years as Vistaraks to expand and strengthen the Sangh’s work. This year, RSS is completing 100 years and more than celebration, it is a time for expansion and consolidation,” he said.
Regarding new Swayamsevaks joining RSS, he informed that a total of 4,415 Prarambhik Varg (Introductory RSS Vargs) were conducted last year, with 2,22,962 new Swayamsevaks added. Of these, 1,63,000 were in the 25-40 age group, while 20,000 were above 40 years of age. Apart from this, 12,73,453 people have approached and joined RSS through the ‘Join RSS’ website online initiative, since it started in 2012. Among them, more than 46,000 women have also shown interest in RSS activities and have been guided towards RSS ideology and work.
Mukunda CR also informed that Dattatreya Hosabale presented the annual report of the Sangh’s work, highlighting key events of the year, including Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat’s visits to various parts of the country. This included visit to Sheikh Abdul Hamid’s hometown in Kashmir, where he released a book on him. Meetings were also held with globally recognised Hindu organisations like ISKCON, BAPS, and Chinmaya Mission, where discussions focused on the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh and other issues concerning Hindus worldwide.
“Dattatreya Hosabale also visited Kanyakumari, where he participated in Seva Bharati’s programme Karma Yogini Sanghamam, attended by over 60,000 women involved in Self-Help Group (SHG) activities,” he said.
Speaking about the Seva Vibhag (Social and Welfare Activities) of RSS, he stated that Sangh has been actively involved in 89,706 social service activities, which include education initiatives (40,920), medical assistance programmes (17,461), service and self-reliance initiatives (10,779), and other social awareness activities (20,546).
“RSS has also taken up special initiatives such as cow protection (Gau Samrakshan) and rural development (Gramin Vikas),” he said.
“RSS Swayamsevaks have paid special attention to Samajik Samrasta (Social Harmony). Additionally, Swayamsevaks have worked in 1,084 locations to eliminate social evils, including issues related to drinking water and temple entry,” he said.
Mukunda CR also congratulated the Uttar Pradesh and Union Governments for successfully organising the Mahakumbh 2025 and making it as a magnificent display of Bharat’s cultural heritage and for their efforts in infrastructure and overall organisation.
During the Pratinidhi Sabha, a statement will be released on the contributions of Rani Abakka, commemorating her 500th birth anniversary.
Programs and events on the 300th birth anniversary of Punyashlok Ahilyabai Holkar were conducted across Bharat by RSS-inspired organizations, highlighting her contributions, he informed.
Replying to a question on Manipur developments, CR Mukunda said, “The situation in Manipur has been disturbed for the past 20 months due to violence between two communities, leading to mistrust and hardships. While recent political and administrative actions have given hope, restoring normalcy will take time. RSS is working towards bringing the Meitei and Kuki groups together by facilitating discussions. Several leaders from both communities are in touch with RSS and meetings have been held in Imphal and Delhi,”
“RSS believes that the North-South divide is politically motivated. We emphasise that such issues should be addressed by social leaders, as conflicts over linguistic differences are detrimental to national unity,” he said.
He also clarified that delimitation is a Parliamentary matter and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has already stated that it will be conducted in a proportional ratio manner.
Answering queries regarding the number of swayamsevaks and the age groups that join RSS, he stated that there are about 1 crore swayamsevaks, with approximately 6,00,000 engaging in daily shakhas.
Additionally, several lakhs of swayamsevaks from RSS inspired organisation are engaged in social services like trade unions, agriculture etc. Most people join RSS in the 12-25 age group and also join with us people above 40 years also.
“Due to historical reasons, our expansion was not as rapid in some areas, but now people around the Bharat are joining. In Tamil Nadu and Bihar, some parts of Odisha where we were not as strong earlier, we are expanding. Tamil Nadu now has more than 4,000 shakhas,” he said.
“RSS strongly advocates for the use of the mother tongue in daily life and has passed resolutions emphasising this. Every individual should learn at least three languages, their mother tongue, a regional language, and a career-oriented language (Hindi, English, Kannada, etc.). However, the choice of a career language should be left to the individual”, he said.
From the perspective of the RSS, ABPS is the most important meeting.
Two resolutions will also be passed during this meeting:
1.The first resolution will be on the concerning developments in Bangladesh, atrocities on Hindus and other minorities and the way forward
2. A Resolution will be on the journey of the RSS in the last 100 years, activities during the centenary year and the path ahead
During the Pratinidhi Sabha, a statement will be release on the contributions of Rani Abakka, commemorating her 500th birth anniversary.
RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat, Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, all six Sah-Sarkaryavahs, and all members of the executive are present in the 3-day meeting. Total 1,500 Karyakartas, mainly elected representatives from Prant and Kshetra levels, are also participating in this meeting. The All India President, General Secretary, and Organising Secretary of 32 RSS-inspired organisations are also present.
