RSS at 100: A time to rededicate to the cause

When the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is completing its 100th year of service, there is evident curiosity about the way the Sangh perceives this landmark.

- DATTATREYA HOSABALE Sarkaryavah, RSS

When the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is completing its 100th year of service, there is evident curiosity about the way the Sangh perceives this landmark. It has been crystal clear for the Sangh since its inception that such occasions are not meant for celebration, but provide us with an opportunity to introspect and rededicate to the cause. It is also a chance to acknowledge the contributions of the stalwarts who guided the movement, and the swayamsevaks and their families who selflessly joined this journey.

There cannot be a better occasion than the birth anniversary of Sangh founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, which happens to be the first day of the Hindu calendar, to revisit the journey and make a resolve for a harmonious and united Bharat for world peace and prosperity.

Hedgewar was a born patriot, and this trait of unconditional love and unadulterated dedication to Bharat was visible in his actions from childhood. By the time he completed his medical education in Kolkata, he had been exposed to all the efforts—from armed revolution to satyagraha—undertaken to free Bharat from British colonisation. As we fondly call him in Sangh circles, 'Doctorji' respected all those ways and never tried to belittle any.

Social reforms and political independence were the central points of discussion at the time. As a doctor of Indian society, he diagnosed the fundamental problems that caused us to lose independence and decided to find a lasting solution. He realised that the absence of patriotism in day-to-day life, the deterioration of the collective national character resulting in parochial identities and lack of discipline in social life are the root causes of external invaders finding their foothold in Bharat.