<p>Mysuru: Former BJP general secretary (organising) Ram Madhav said, many people and organisations may look at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as their enemy, but for RSS there are no enemies – for RSS, every individual is a potential ‘swayamsevak’, who might join the RSS in future, for the national cause.</p><p>He was delivering a talk on ‘RSS 100 – Centenary Year of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’ at Jagannatha Centre for Art and Culture (JCAC), Vedika Auditorium, on Kannada Sahitya Parishad Road, Vijayanagar, in Mysuru, on Saturday, at a time when there are heated debates on both traditional media, as well as social media, on the RSS.</p><p><strong>Interaction</strong></p><p>Manthana Mysuru, a literary and cultural organisation, had organised the speech by the top right-wing functionary, who is also an author and president of India Foundation, a think tank, in association with Jan Jagaran Trust. Industrialist and managing editor of Star of Mysore Vikram Muthanna presided over the talk and moderated it.</p><p>Ram Madhav said, it is very easy to misunderstand the RSS, but very difficult to understand it. “Thus many people have misconceptions about the RSS. However, today, the RSS is mainstream and its thought process is occupying the centrestage. Probably, no other organisation has lived for more than 100 years, without any government support. Many organisations have valuable immovable properties, but no organisation strength. But, with less buildings, the RSS has an immense organisational presence,” he said.</p>.Top right-wing functionary Ram Madhav to speak on RSS in Mysuru.<p><strong>Endurance</strong></p><p>Ram Madhav said, bans, regulations, surveillance and restrictions are not new to the RSS. “It has endured many challenges, over 100 years. The late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru suppressed it for various reasons in 1948. But, by 1962, he was impressed by the RSS and included it in the 1963 Republic Day Parade. Jayaprakash Narayan used to instigate his Congress followers to attack the RSS in the 1960s. But, by the mid 1970s he praised it. Any other organisation would not have survived, with the kind of opposition and oppression the RSS had to endure,” he said.</p><p>“The RSS inspires the individuals to be good Hindus. That is its ‘Hindutva’. There was no mention of ‘Hindutva’ in the RSS for the first half century. The RSS respects Swatantryaveer Savarkar. His Hindutva was an ideology. But, RSS does not subscribe to any ideology, including that of Savarkar. RSS is only wedded to the idealism of this nation,” Ram Madhav said.</p><p><strong>Patriotism</strong></p><p>“The RSS does not claim that patriotism is its monopoly. Every citizen and every member of all organisations are patriots. But for RSS, patriotism is a 24/7 activity. The RSS has always stood for the Constitution. In 1950, it held a movement for the implementation of one of the Directive Principles – Goraksha. In the 1960s, it mobilised all sadhus and sanths to promote oneness in the society. In the 1970s, it fought against the Emergency, to restore Democracy,” Ram Madhav said.</p><p>Jan Jagaran Trust president R Vasudev Bhat and MLA T S Srivathsa were present.</p>
<p>Mysuru: Former BJP general secretary (organising) Ram Madhav said, many people and organisations may look at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as their enemy, but for RSS there are no enemies – for RSS, every individual is a potential ‘swayamsevak’, who might join the RSS in future, for the national cause.</p><p>He was delivering a talk on ‘RSS 100 – Centenary Year of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’ at Jagannatha Centre for Art and Culture (JCAC), Vedika Auditorium, on Kannada Sahitya Parishad Road, Vijayanagar, in Mysuru, on Saturday, at a time when there are heated debates on both traditional media, as well as social media, on the RSS.</p><p><strong>Interaction</strong></p><p>Manthana Mysuru, a literary and cultural organisation, had organised the speech by the top right-wing functionary, who is also an author and president of India Foundation, a think tank, in association with Jan Jagaran Trust. Industrialist and managing editor of Star of Mysore Vikram Muthanna presided over the talk and moderated it.</p><p>Ram Madhav said, it is very easy to misunderstand the RSS, but very difficult to understand it. “Thus many people have misconceptions about the RSS. However, today, the RSS is mainstream and its thought process is occupying the centrestage. Probably, no other organisation has lived for more than 100 years, without any government support. Many organisations have valuable immovable properties, but no organisation strength. But, with less buildings, the RSS has an immense organisational presence,” he said.</p>.Top right-wing functionary Ram Madhav to speak on RSS in Mysuru.<p><strong>Endurance</strong></p><p>Ram Madhav said, bans, regulations, surveillance and restrictions are not new to the RSS. “It has endured many challenges, over 100 years. The late prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru suppressed it for various reasons in 1948. But, by 1962, he was impressed by the RSS and included it in the 1963 Republic Day Parade. Jayaprakash Narayan used to instigate his Congress followers to attack the RSS in the 1960s. But, by the mid 1970s he praised it. Any other organisation would not have survived, with the kind of opposition and oppression the RSS had to endure,” he said.</p><p>“The RSS inspires the individuals to be good Hindus. That is its ‘Hindutva’. There was no mention of ‘Hindutva’ in the RSS for the first half century. The RSS respects Swatantryaveer Savarkar. His Hindutva was an ideology. But, RSS does not subscribe to any ideology, including that of Savarkar. RSS is only wedded to the idealism of this nation,” Ram Madhav said.</p><p><strong>Patriotism</strong></p><p>“The RSS does not claim that patriotism is its monopoly. Every citizen and every member of all organisations are patriots. But for RSS, patriotism is a 24/7 activity. The RSS has always stood for the Constitution. In 1950, it held a movement for the implementation of one of the Directive Principles – Goraksha. In the 1960s, it mobilised all sadhus and sanths to promote oneness in the society. In the 1970s, it fought against the Emergency, to restore Democracy,” Ram Madhav said.</p><p>Jan Jagaran Trust president R Vasudev Bhat and MLA T S Srivathsa were present.</p>