THE customary annual address by Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), at the centenary Vijaya Dashami celebrations of the RSS, offered to the Indian nation in particular and the humanity in general many points to ponder over and decide a line of action. Those points covered wide-ranging areas including civilisational issues, cultural dimensions, social structure and people’s conduct through time, political and ideological discourse, and what the humanity needs for its harmonious future. Staying within the framework of the concept of Panchparivartan. That is not just a action-programme for the RSS at the start of its second century, but a road-map for the India of the coming decades. In equal measure came from Mr. Ram Nath Kovind, former President of India, a very mature and deep understanding of the process of what the RSS has stood for and what contribution it has made to India’s socio-cultural and political discourse.

 

The Vijaya Dashami celebrations of the RSS at the completion of its centenary, thus, became launch pad for the New India of everybody’s dream -- far beyond petty politics and parochial jostle of ideologies. What got presented was not an ideology but an ideal of the comprehensive idea of India (and the world). These celebrations, in this manner, were far different from the regular Vijaya Dashami festivals the RSS has been organising every year. Dr. Mohan Bhagwat did not indulge in a one-sided appreciation of what is happening in today’s India. Instead, he appealed to people’s conscience to think independently on what India needs and what its history offered by way of reference and context. Even though he did not belittle the developmental effort in the Himalayas, Dr. Bhagwat made it clear that the landslides and unpredictable rainfall plus quakes in the Himalayan region should be treated as a wake up call for India and the humanity.

 

He expressed his deep concern over drying up of Himalayan rivers and change of glacial geography and geology, and insisted that time had come to take a good look at what damage is being caused to the Himalayan ecosystem by Man in quest of development. Dr. Bhagwat talked of the importance of family institution and its place and space in the larger social ecosystem. He said, in effect, that after thousands of years of actual practice, Indian society had perfected the social system in which the family had a critical role to play in moulding of human personality in collective context. India of today will have to take into consideration those factors that kept the institution of Indian family intact and thriving. The time has also come to see if those values require a social inspection and introspection, Dr. Bhagwat said. As the RSS enters the next century of its existence, the two expositions -- by Dr. Mohan Bhagwat and Mr. Ram Nath Kovind -- plus the speech of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi a day earlier in New Delhi at the release of 100-rupee RSS commemorative coin, point to a welcome transformation in the nation’s thought-process that is being accepted by not just a numerical majority but also by a moral majority (if such a coinage may be used).

 

The people of India -- and the world -- now look at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as a strongest votary of Indic awareness. Though there still are many who continue attaching political colour to the RSS, the majority of people in India look at it as an organisation working silently and tirelessly for genuine national unity. The launching of the centenary celebrations, therefore, is a marker of the invariable national mood. It is obvious that the RSS will lead the larger Indian society to thought and action based on Indic awareness that would question wrong notions and promote the right way of collective living.