Hindu Rashtra not exclusionary concept, says Mohan Bhagwat

Want to organise entire society, don't want to create exclusive group: RSS chief

- ARCHIS MOHAN

In the first of a series of lectures across the country in the runup to the centenary celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), its chief, Mohan Bhagwat, on Tuesday sought to dispel misperceptions about the organisation, and spoke in front of a select gathering of the Sangh's twin beliefs in consensus building and its commitment to train its volunteers to imbibe the spirit of accommodation.

The three-day event, titled "100 Years Journey of the RSS: New Horizons", began on Tuesday at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

It will also be held in three other metros in the country over the next few months.

The RSS, founded on the Vijayadashami day in 1925, will begin its year-long centenary celebrations on Vijayadashami, which this year falls on October 2. It has plans to hold thousands of "Hindu sammelans" across the country to mark its centenary year, starting with Bhagwat's address at the organisation's headquarters in Nagpur on October 2.

In Tuesday's lecture, Bhagwat said his effort was to put forth "facts" about the RSS in the public domain to correct the misperceptions about the outfit based on "inauthentic" information.