Hindutva and development

IN ITS CENTENARY YEAR, THE RSS HAS SET AN AGENDA FOR A PROSPEROUS, EQUAL INDIA

- BADRI NARAYAN

THE RASHTRIYA SWAYAM-SEVAK Sangh (RSS) began its centenary celebrations recently. The Sangh and its sympathisers are organising various programmes related to the RSS and its schemes for the India of the future.

In these programmes, various aspects and meanings of the Sangh in Indian society are being discussed. These apart, they are producing other appreciative as well as critical discourses triggering interpretations of its past and present.

On October 1 in Delhi, at an event linked to the celebrations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the RSS role in the making of the Indian society and nation. He highlighted how in the Sangh’s shakhas (branches), an individual’s journey from “me” to “we” begins. As we know, Modi was a karyakarta (functionary) and pracharak (missionary) for a long period of his life. Therefore, what he shared on that occasion mostly emerged from his own experience.

As was observed several times during his chief ministership of Gujarat and as the prime minister, Modi has reiterated how he has learnt from the Sangh about the many aspects of life as well as a method of governance. He has imbibed from the RSS many constituents of his development vision as well as his practices to achieve samrasta (harmony) and equality. He has developed the notion of samagra samrasta (holistic harmony) that blends his experiences and learnings.