To mark centenary, RSS plans year-long outreach drive across country

Ambekar said that in some prants (RSS provinces) the Sangh has formally rolled out the door-to-door meetings. Gradually, they will be held across the country and will conclude around January.

“Swayamsevaks will carry a booklet, a leaflet, and a poster of Bharat Mata to the houses. They will also talk to people for about 10 minutes. This won’t be about praising the Sangh but discussing issues concerning the country and society. They will ask families about their views and also share the Sangh’s perspective,” said an RSS insider. “Just as we visited homes before the Ram temple inauguration, the plan is to extensively reach out to households as part of the Sangh’s outreach.” In Delhi alone, 50,000 tolis (small groups) of two to three persons each are being formed for the exercise.

The booklet, available at a nominal cost, will likely include themes based on Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat’s public lectures in Delhi and his Vijayadashami address in Nagpur this year, marking 100 years of the RSS.

Following this, Hindu Sammelans will be held at the basti- and mandal-level for a few months, where a main speaker will address people from four to five villages in each sammelan.

The third programme will be samajik sadbhav baithaks, or social harmony meets. “The idea is to integrate society,” said an RSS leader, stressing that bridging caste divides remains a top priority for the Sangh.

Bhagwat had recently made it clear that reservation would continue till its beneficiaries felt it should.

Asked at the curtain-raiser press conference for the ABKM meet in Jabalpur whether the Sangh would also reach out to non-Hindus, Ambekar said the Sangh had an inclusive understanding of Hindus as all people who see India as their motherland, irrespective of their mode of worship.

The RSS will also meet prominent local figures known for their professional standing or work in social, religious, educational, or cultural fields.

“The Sarsanghchalak will be present at several programmes. Bhagwat had delivered public lectures in Delhi in August. A similar event will be held in Bengaluru on November 8 and 9, and in Mumbai on February 7 and 8. In many other states, he will attend public events and share his views,” Ambekar said.

“There will finally be a youth outreach, aiming to engage the youth nationwide. This will mark the culmination of the centenary year celebrations,” an RSS insider said.

Swayamsevaks believe the outreach will help expand RSS’s shakha network beyond the current 83,000 to about one lakh.

Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers. Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers. He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read More

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