Bengaluru, March 21 (IANS) Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat inaugurated the three-day Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) in Bengaluru on Friday. The RSS stated that the meeting would deliberate on a wide range of issues, including the north-south divide, the situation in Manipur and Bangladesh, Hindu-Muslim harmony, and the expansion of the RSS across the country, among others.
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat and Genera Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale inaugurated the Pratinidhi Sabha by lamping the light and paying respects to Bharat Mata.
The members paid homage to prominent personalities such as former PM Manmohan Singh, world-famous Tabla player Zakir Hussain, Swami Pranavananda Tirtha Paad of Kollam, descendant of Sant Tukaram Ji, Sri Sirish Maharaj Ji More, thinker, social thought leader M.K. Vasudevan Nayar and famous director Shyam Benegal, poet and film producer Pritish Nandy, tallest leader of Karnataka S.M. Krishna and one of the trustee of Ram Janmabhoomi Trust Kameshwar Chaupal.
Two Padmasheree awardees from Karnataka, Tulasi Gowda and Sukri Bomma Gowda, Shankar Dattawadi Ji, instrumental in spreading and consolidating the RSS all across the globe, were also paid homage.
Addressing a press conference following the inauguration, Mukunda C.R., Joint General Secretary of the RSS, stated that the organisation is currently undergoing rapid expansion. He announced that there is no opposition to the expansion of the RSS across the country.
Answering a question, Mukunda said, “We have almost one crore volunteers. Among them, around six lakh attend our daily shakhas. Many volunteers trained in shakhas work in different sectors of society, which means there are lakhs of volunteers engaged in various fields. The age group at which a person typically enters our organisation is between 12 and 25 years.”
He added, “Yes, some people join after their 40s, but mostly, they enter as children.”
Speaking about the expansion, Mukunda stated, “Due to historical reasons, we are gaining the expected traction as planned. Over the past 8 to 10 years, we have been receiving volunteers from all over the country. In Tamil Nadu, however, the numbers were relatively lower compared to other regions. But this year, the number of shakhas in Tamil Nadu has crossed 4,000. In some parts of Bihar, western Odisha, and the Devagiri region in Maharashtra, our presence is not as strong as in other regions.”
He continued, “We are witnessing a significant increase in the number of volunteers in all regions, and new shakhas are being established. Today, in almost all parts of the country, there is no opposition to the expansion of RSS. In some areas, we do face minor resistance, but it is not due to religious reasons; rather, it is temporary and political in nature. We have been able to resolve such issues. We are on an expansion spree.”
Providing details about the meeting, Mukunda explained, “When we gather for such meetings, most of our time is spent analysing and planning our work. As we all know, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the RSS. For us, expansion and consolidation take precedence over celebration. Additionally, we assess the social transformation we aim to bring about and evaluate our progress in that regard.”
“Total expected here are 1,482. Every year when we meet for our Pratinidhi Sabha, our session starts with paying homage and tribute to those who have left us ending their journey,” he stated.
Highlighting some key statistics, he stated, “The total number of locations where RSS activities take place is 73,646, out of which 51,710 are daily activities and 21,936 are weekly activities. The total number of shakhas — our basic daily activities — stands at 83,129, which is nearly 10,000 more than last year.”
“The number of activities has expanded by 10,000. Weekly activities have also increased, with an addition of 4,430 compared to last year. The combined total of daily and weekly activities now stands at 1,15,276, as reported by workers from various parts of the country,” he said.
“For the past three years, we have been focusing on rural mandals. As per our division, we have 58,981 rural mandals, with 30,770 daily shakhas. Last year, we increased this number by 3,050. The total number of weekly shakhas stands at 9,200, bringing the combined total to 39,970.”
He further elaborated, “Our Sar Sanghchalak ji has invited our karyakartas to dedicate two years as ‘Shatabdi Vistaraks’ for expansion and consolidation efforts. Currently, 2,453 individuals have left their homes to take part in this initiative. Every year, new volunteers in the age group of 14 to 25 join us. For example, last year, 4,415 Prarambhik Varg sessions were conducted, adding 2,22,962 new volunteers to our organisation. Out of these, 1.63 lakh were in the 14-25 age group, while 20,000 were above 40 years of age.”
“Every year, new students and young individuals join our organisation. We also have a provision on our website for interested individuals to sign up. Since 2012, 12,73,453 volunteers have expressed interest and approached us through the online platform. Out of these, 46,000 women have also shown interest, and they have been guided toward various activities.”
Speaking about online engagement, he stated, “Our ‘Join RSS’ vertical is receiving responses from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and even outside India. We are a youth-driven organisation, and every year, students and young individuals continue to join us.”
Quoting highlights from the annual report, Mukunda said, “Our Sahakaryavaha, Dattatreya Hosabale, has documented this year’s tour programmes in his report. This time, we visited several prominent places and personalities. For instance, we visited a temple in Arunachal Pradesh and the hometown of Shaheed Abdul Hameed in Kashmir, where a biography was released in his honour.”
“Our Sar Sanghchalak and Saha Karyavaha attended a global meeting that takes place every two years. This was the fifth such meeting, where representatives of Hindu organisations with a global presence, including ISKCON and Ramakrishna Mission, participated. The meeting was held in Mumbai this year, bringing together heads and functionaries of various spiritual organisations.”
“At the meeting, we discussed the rights of Hindus in Bangladesh and across the world. We also explored a collaborative approach to strengthening our society, both within India and internationally,” he added.
Regarding social service initiatives, he said, “We have a total of 89,706 service activities. Out of these, 49,920 are related to education, 17,461 to medical services, 10,779 to self-reliance, and 20,546 to social awareness. The RSS has taken special initiatives in rural development, with a focus on fostering harmony. Our workers have specifically worked in 1,084 locations to eradicate social malpractices, such as restrictions on temple entry and drinking water taboos.”
–IANS
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