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Holding a mirror to Bharat's journey

THE WEEK India

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October 19, 2025

Some ideas begin as whispers and grow into movements that shape nations. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is one such idea. When Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar founded the RSS in 1925, his goal was not political power but national character. He believed that a strong Bharat could only stand upon the strength of selfless individuals who were disciplined, devoted and deeply rooted in the soil of this civilisation.

- BANSURI SWARAJ

Holding a mirror to Bharat's journey

After Hedgewar's passing, M.S. Golwalkar, fondly known as Guruji, took the organisation forward with unmatched conviction. If Hedgewar founded the Sangh, Golwalkar gave it its philosophy and structure. His vision of cultural unity and moral strength guided the Sangh through the years when faith in Bharat's civilisational identity was at its lowest.

I grew up in a home where the teachings of the Sangh were not only recited but lived. My mother often said that true service to the nation begins not in speeches but in conduct. She would say that the Sangh's genius lay in its quiet efficiency, in its ability to organise quietly and serve without seeking credit. When I look back, I realise that her belief in seva bhav, humility and discipline came from the same ethos that the RSS has nurtured for a hundred years.

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