Sangh’s Panchaparivartam offers blueprint for Bharat’s next century

The call for Panchaparivartam (five transformations) signals an important evolution in India’s largest socio-cultural movement.

- SANTISHREE DHULIPUDI PANDIT

As the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) celebrates its centenary, the organisation has chosen to mark the milestone with more reflection and reform, continuing its tradition of adapting to the changing and evolving aspirations of society. The call for Panchaparivartam (five transformations) signals an important evolution in India's largest socio-cultural movement, reflecting an organization that has not only endured and developed but also adapted while remaining rooted in Bhartiya heritage and civilization, embracing the spirit of change demanded by a diverse, democratic society.

A CENTURY OF WORK AND SELF-REFORM

Few voluntary organisations anywhere in the world have sustained the continuity, scale, and effect that the Sangh has achieved. From a handful of shakhas in Nagpur in the 1920s, it now operates across the length and breadth of Bharat, affecting change in education through community service during disaster relief, promoting social harmony and civic discipline. This growth has stemmed from the ethos of self-reliance, collective responsibility, and discipline that the Sangh has cultivated among ordinary citizens.

The Sangh's willingness to name these issues and embed them within its moral vocabulary demonstrates maturity and foresight.

UNDERSTANDING PANCHAPARIVARTAM

The Panchaparivartam framework proposes five intertwined and overlapping domains of change. Firstly, Swa-bodh (Self-awareness) seeks to promote cultural confidence and self-realization. Secondly, the concept of Samajik Samrasta (Social Harmony) aims to promote equality and fraternity across caste, class, gender, and community lines. The third is the Kutumb Prabodban (Family Awakening), which aims to restore the idea of the family as a unit of trust, care, and values, rather than valuing isolationist individualism.