New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that despite repeated attempts to suppress the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) after Independence, the organisation has stood firm “like a banyan tree.” He was speaking at the RSS Centenary Celebration held at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi. On the occasion, the Prime Minister released a commemorative postage stamp and a coin marking 100 years of the Sangh.
Recalling the RSS role in public life, PM Modi said volunteers have always been at the forefront during crises—be it social struggles against untouchability or service during the COVID-19 pandemic. He highlighted the Sangh’s advocacy of “one well, one temple, one cremation ground” and its emphasis on equality, noting that “in RSS thought, no Hindu is big or small.”
Greeting the nation on Mahanavami and the upcoming Vijayadashami, Modi said the festival symbolizes the triumph of truth over falsehood and light over darkness. “Vijayadashami is a timeless proclamation of this Indian cultural belief,” he remarked.
Calling the RSS centenary more than a coincidence, the Prime Minister said, “A century ago, when such a major celebration was unfolding, the Sangh’s establishment was not accidental. It was the revival of a civilizational tradition, where national consciousness manifests in new forms to face the challenges of every era. In our times, the Sangh is a virtuous expression of that eternal national consciousness.”
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