SILIGURI: “Whether we willingly take responsibility for the future or not, it will inevitably fall upon the shoulders of the youth. If we work only for ourselves, will I and my family remain safe? Whenever a crisis has struck the nation, society has awakened. From the periods of the Huns, Mughals, Pathans and ultimately the British, history has repeated this pattern time and again,” said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat while addressing the gathering during the Yuva Sammelan in Siliguri, West Bengal, on December 18, 2025.
“With the objective of removing discrimination and narrow self-interests prevalent in society, streams of social reform emerged. Who are we? Who are our own? To reawaken this sense of self-realisation, work began under the inspiration of Dayanand Saraswati and Ramakrishna–Vivekananda,” he said.
While speaking on RSS founder Dr KB Hedgewar, he said that even in his younger years, “Doctorji” led the Vande Mataram movement in a school in Nagpur. Under the pretext of pursuing medical studies, Dr Hedgewar established contact with the Anusheelan Samiti and expanded the revolutionary movement into western Bharat as well. While presenting his defence against charges of sedition, Doctorji had questioned: on the basis of which law did the British acquire the right to rule Bharat?
Like great personalities such as Veer Savarkar, Subhas Chandra Bose and Lokmanya Tilak, Doctorji too realised that without building society, all efforts for national resurgence would prove futile. For the allround progress of the nation, Doctorji initiated the work of individual character-building.
“Swayamsevaks are continuously moving forward while working in every sphere of society. Every individual of Bharat should live for Bharat, know Bharat and accept Bharat. The Sangh is a process of translating into practice the essence of the thoughts and experiences of Bharat’s great personalities. We say, ‘Diversity is the search for unity’,” he said
He further asked the swayamsevaks to keep a copy of the Constitution at home and study it.
He also said, “Come to the Sangh, examine the Sangh, and if everything appears appropriate, associate yourselves with the work of the Sangh. Let us all become participants in this great mission of national resurgence.” This Yuva Sammelan is part of a series of programmes being organised at the national level to mark 100 years of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
