'...to build a consensus, not conflict or struggle.'
In the first of a series of lectures across the country in the run-up to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's centenary celebrations, 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 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 RSS 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.
Speaking about the future of the Sangh, now that it will soon mark a hundred years of its existence, Bhagwat said the purpose of the RSS was India's civilisational progress. He said the Sangh found its meaning in India achieving its standing in the world as 'vishvaguru', and elaborated upon how swayamsevaks, or RSS volunteers, could contribute in attaining this goal.
Bhagwat spoke of RSS founder K B Hedgewar's journey, especially his time in Calcutta with the revolutionaries of the Anushilan Samiti, a secret revolutionary outfit, where he was codenamed 'cocaine'.
The RSS chief interspersed his speech with quotes from the writings of Guru Nanak, Rabindranath Tagore, and Mahatma Gandhi on issues ranging from the qualities that a leader should possess and how India was one country much before the British arrived on its shores.
Bhagwat, who turns 75 on September 11 this year, said the RSS would continue to work to make India a global leader. He said the 'dharma' of Indians, and of the RSS, is 'samanwaya', to build a consensus, not conflict or struggle.
He said the DNA of those living in the vast landmass of India for over 40,000 years was one characterised by their disposition to live in harmony.
The association the swayamsevaks have with their parent organisation, the Sangh, is unbreakable, and their goal is to unite Hindu society, according to him.
This should not be seen from the narrow prism of religious persuasion but from the point of view of those living in this land, 'Bharat Mata', and the tradition of ancestors, which is common to all, he said.
'We do not want to create an exclusive group. Our purpose is to organise the entire society,' Bhagwat said, adding that the term 'Hindu' stood for inclusiveness.
The RSS has not been formed, or does not function, as a reactionary outfit, Bhagwat asserted. He said Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists in India would not wage fights against one another but would live and die for this country.
Bhagwat stressed the need for social transformation for the country's rise.
'If we have to make the country progress, then it will not happen by leaving the job to a particular individual or a party. Each person has a role to play,' he said, adding that the role of politicians, governments, and political parties was to assist the process.
Representatives from two dozen foreign missions, including China, Denmark, the United States, Russia, and Israel attended the event, as did Union Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia and Anupriya Patel; Yoga guru Ramdev; Janata Dal-United leader K C Tyagi; Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha member Kangana Ranaut; and several former bureaucrats and members of academia.
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