“World peace is in fact our ultimate goal. In fact, it has been our nation’s life mission, and we have to fulfil it. To give lessons in peace to the world on a spiritual level and to create a sense of oneness in the whole of humanity has been our real national mission since ages. But when will all this become possible? Only when we succeed in bringing together crores of our own people and imbuing them with our sublime cultural values and sterling character and motivating them for the achievement of that mission.”
— Shri Guruji (Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar), Second Sarsanghchalak of RSS, as quoted in SHRI GURUJI – Pioneer of A New Era by C P Bhishikar, Translated by Sudhakar Raje, Sahitya Sindhu Prakashan, Bangalore, 1999, p. 81
The glorious journey of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has entered its centenary year, and that made the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) of the largest voluntary organisation of the world special. What kind of celebrations would be planned was a matter of curiosity for many. Instead of outlining some big bang programmes, Sangh came up with the renewal of resolve for the resurgence of Bharat, focusing on the three points – acknowledgement, introspection and rededication.
The journey that started to organise Hindus for complete Independence of Bharat from the colonial clutches had to go through phases of ridicule, neglect and opposition. Those phases could not be overcome without the struggle and sacrifices of millions of Swayamsevaks and their families. Sangh has considered the virtuous power of society to be its strength and has always reached out to sadhus, sants, and other social organisations to be part of the larger mission. RSS acknowledged all those contributions that enabled it to work during disasters, build thousands of service projects and create participatory movements from Vivekananda Rock Memorial to reconstruction of Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir. Sangh does not seek credit but, as a movement, wants to take everything righteous and pro-Bharat, differentiating it from all other organisations.
The collective decision-making model allows RSS to introspect about its performance in a critical manner. In the last ABPS, the task of taking the organisation to each block level was targeted. The main activities undertaken were reviewing every region’s progress and exploring the possibility of Shatabdi Vistaraks – full-timers taking up expansion work and reaching out to every section of the society. All this was supported by surveys, participatory rural development, skill enhancement, and environmental programmes as per local requirements. The panch-parivartan – five-fold transformation activities became the buzzwords for participatory social transformation.
This process of annual introspection allows Sangh to set new targets while keeping the larger goal in mind., The number of Shakhas have increased by ten thousand, with more than five thousand locations but Swayamsevaks are not satisfied with the same. The two points that looked pertinent for the RSS in the centenary year were the need to continue the work humbly and always remember the purpose of existence. Hence, the ABPS has resolved on behalf of all Swayamsevaks to rededicate itself and realise the larger objective of organising the entire society as early as possible.
More dedicated efforts to expedite the work is the only celebratory programme Sangh will undertake. What Dr Hedgewar had envisaged as a seed is now unfolded in the next twenty years of phases starting from inception to evolution of the functioning to expansion in national life and now the phase of acceptance and transformation. Every individual should selflessly think about the national interest so that Bharat can think about the universal interest, which is the ultimate vision of RSS – the idea of Param Vaibhav. Though this is nothing new from Sangh’s point of view, how this is articulated and expected to take shape in the coming years is more precise and tangible. Sangh and the society would become coterminous, so a separate organisational structure is not required. All patriotic citizens should join this endeavour by participating in various programmes to change the distorted intellectual narratives and nurture the values of RSS imparted in the shakha to ‘We the people’ of Bharat. Ultimately, individual security and progress depend on the collective strength of Bharat, and a strong Bharat guarantees world peace and prosperity. We should join the unique celebration to the best of our capacity and contribute to this eternal resolve of Bharat to present a model of harmonious development and coexistence to humanity. Sangh is not interested in RSS ki or Dr Hedgewar ki Jai but only in Bharat Mata ki Jai, which should be and can be our common goal!
