India Foundation, in collaboration with India Habitat Centre, organised a panel discussion on ‘RSS@100’ at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, on Monday, 03 November 2025. The programme’s panel consisted of Ma. J. Nandakumar, National Convenor, Pragna Pravah, RSS ; Dr. Meenakshi Jain, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha & Shri Prafulla Ketkar, Editor, Organiser Weekly.
The session was moderated by Capt. Alok Bansal, Executive Vice President, India Foundation. Capt Bansal, in his initial remarks, highlighted the glorious journey of RSS as a unique and one of the longest serving organisations and how RSS has always contributed to the society in the last 100 years. He also emphasizes the insider-outsider view of organisation and organisation’s contribution in society and nation building process. Emphasising that the speech given by Param Pujyneeya Sar-Sangh Chalak ji was a reference point for the discussion, Capt Bansal set the tone and agenda for the discussants to present their views before the audience.
Shri Prafulla Ketkar highlighted the reference points in the journey of RSS and gave credit to the first Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, Shri K.B. Hedgevar and VD Savarkar for initial ideological background of the RSS. Shri Ketkar emphasised on the difference between the RSS and other organisations, pointing out the inclusive idea of Hindutva that RSS espouses. Moreover, he explained this argument through the examples of some members of RSS, who joined various organisations for serving the country and concludes how inclusiveness as an interesting working style of RSS both as an organisation and a movement. During the explanation of uniqueness of organisation, he highlighted that the RSS joined the nationalist movement in a different way and worked as dynamic organisation, while giving reference to his book The RSS: 100 Years of Service Dedication and Nation Building.
Prof. Meenakshi Jain further gave details about the history of reforms in the 19th century and how RSS was somehow related to those reform movements but also had a different contribution. Trajectory of RSS is aligning from some the reform movements from Bengal and Maharashtra, but RSS was not only a reformist movement but also had a major role in rebuilding the nation and its markers. Prof. Jain specifically talked about the Ram Janmbhoomi movement which was essentially a mark of nation building and highlighted crucial contribution of the RSS members in collecting the evidence, even from the colonial times and archives, (where it was mentioned as Janmsthan) for the court case and street narratives. She explicitly highlighted the pain of the members who sacrificed selflessly for the Temple cause.
Ma. J. Nandakumar highlighted the understanding and perception in poetic terms of different regions in India, where he highlighted a meaning of RSS as swa-ras means self-taste. Shri Nandkumar also explained the multi-dimensional vision of the RSS towards the nation and the society, during colonial time for the freedom movement and after, in the process of nation building. Further he explained the different phases of RSS journey and pointed out that in all these phases, one of the most important binding glue was its Shakha, which gave importance and continuity for the servitude for the nation.
