Amravati | October 5, 2025 — A few days before the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) centenary Vijayadashami celebration in Amravati, a letter attributed to Dr Kamaltai Gavai, wife of former Governor late R S Gavai and mother of Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai, went viral on social media, sparking widespread discussion across Maharashtra.
The Amravati Mahanagar unit of the RSS had invited Kamaltai as the chief guest for the historic centenary Vijayadashami function scheduled on October 5. Her name was printed on the official programme pamphlet, which was widely distributed throughout the city.
However, soon after the pamphlet’s circulation, a clarification letter surfaced on social media, purportedly from Kamaltai, claiming that she had never agreed to attend any RSS event. The message further alleged that her name had been included as part of a “conspiracy by the Sangh,” asserting that “we are staunch Ambedkarites.”
This created a flutter, especially since the Gavai family has long been associated with the Ambedkarite and Republican party movements.
RSS Maintains: ‘We Invited Her Personally’
When contacted, senior RSS functionaries in Amravati maintained that Kamaltai had indeed been personally invited and had agreed to be the chief guest.
“We fixed a meeting with Kamaltai, and four senior functionaries were present,” said an RSS representative. “Only after she accepted the invitation did we print her name on the programme booklet. The letter circulating on social media is fake.”
On October 5, 2024, Kamaltai sent an official letter addressed to RSS Amravati Mahanagar Sanghchalak Ulhas Baporikar, expressing her best wishes for the centenary celebration and noting her inability to attend the programme due to unavoidable reasons.
In the letter, she reflected on Bharat’s civilisational heritage, social harmony, and constitutional values, acknowledging that the centenary event marked a significant occasion, and ended with her greetings and the line — “Sampoorna mangal maitri sah… Mangal ho.”
However, the letter does not contain any explicit praise or endorsement of the RSS’s work or ideology, and states that the organisation has the opportunity of taking Bharat towards the path of development by protecting and preserving humanitarian and constitutional values.
Historical Links: R S Gavai’s 1981 Appearance
Interestingly, this is not the first time the Gavai family’s name has appeared in connection with the Sangh. Archival references show that late R S Gavai, while serving as a leader of the Republican Party of India, had attended the RSS Sangh Shiksha Varg valedictory function in 1981 as chief guest.
A photograph from that event corroborates his presence, adding historical weight to the RSS’s claim that the invitation extended to Kamaltai was in keeping with that earlier association.
Legacy of Dialogue and Inclusion
The third Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, Madhukar Dattatraya Deoras (Balasaheb Deoras), not only gave the message of social harmony but also took special efforts towards it. During his tenure, senior Dalit movement leaders like late R S Gavai (then Bihar Governor, attended in 1981) and Dalit leader Rajabhau Khobragade (attended in 1983) had been chief guests at Sangh events. Later, in 2017, Dalit Sikh community sant Nirmal Das Maharaj from Jalandhar was invited as chief guest for the Vijayadashami celebrations.
The Sangh has often stated that it welcomes differing voices, encouraging critics and thinkers to see its work first-hand rather than form opinions based on hearsay. When R S Gavai spoke from the RSS platform in 1981, he had freely discussed themes of Ambedkar, caste, and social equality, which were heard with respect and without opposition.
It is within this tradition of dialogue that the invitation to Dr Kamaltai Gavai was extended, Sangh representatives maintain.
Historic Vijayadashami Occasion
This year’s Vijayadashami is of special significance as it marks 100 years since the founding of the RSS in 1925 by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in Nagpur.
The occasion also coincides with another major historic milestone — October 14, 1956, when Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, on Vijayadashami day. As a result, Maharashtra witnesses two major events every year on this day — one at Deekshabhoomi and the other at the RSS headquarters.
With the centenary celebration this year being held in Amravati, and the inclusion of Kamaltai Gavai, a prominent figure from a family closely associated with the Deekshabhoomi movement, the development had drawn wide public attention.
Beyond the Controversy
While the authenticity of the viral social media letter remains unverified, Kamaltai’s official communication to the RSS reflects a tone of civility and goodwill — not ideological endorsement.
Observers note that this episode once again underlines the complex intersections between Ambedkarite and Sangh traditions — two of the most influential social currents in modern Bharat — and the need to sustain dialogue, even amidst ideological differences.
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