New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday lauded the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on its centenary celebrations, saying the organisation never displayed any bitterness despite several attacks on it as it continued to work on the principle of nation first.
Participating in the centenary celebrations of RSS here, Modi highlighted the contribution of the Sangh in nation-building and said it reached every corner of the country with the goal of fostering harmony by removing divisions of caste and creed and spreading the message of an inclusive society.
“The Sangh has fought against the atrocities of the British. Their only interest has always been love towards the nation,” Modi said, adding that Sangh volunteers gave shelter to freedom fighters, and its founder Doctor Keshav Baliram Hedgewar was also jailed several times during the freedom struggle.
The Prime Minister said there have been numerous attempts to crush the spirit of RSS by levelling allegations and registering false cases. “The RSS has never been bitter, despite attempts to make false cases against them, attempts to ban them and other challenges,” he said, in an apparent reference to the ban on RSS after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Modi said swayamsevaks understood that they were not separate from society, but society is made of them. “What is good belongs to them, and what is less good also belongs to them,” he said.
Modi said even the then RSS chief Madhav Golwalkar was falsely implicated in a case and sent to jail.
“Yet, when he came out, he said with calm wisdom: ‘At times, the tongue may get caught under the teeth, but we do not break teeth,’” the Prime Minister said.
He said one of the key reasons the RSS never harboured bitterness is the unwavering faith of every swayamsevak in democracy and constitutional institutions. The Prime Minister recalled that during the Emergency, this very belief empowered swayamsevaks and gave them the strength to resist.
“These two core values – oneness with society and faith in constitutional institutions – have kept swayamsevaks composed in every crisis and sensitive towards societal needs. Despite facing numerous challenges over time, the Sangh stands firm like a mighty banyan tree, continuously serving the nation and society,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister also released a special postage stamp and a commemorative coin to mark the centenary of the RSS.
