Vice-President releases book “RSS @100: A Century of Service, Unity & Sacrifice”

Addressing the gathering, the Vice-President said it was a personal honour for him to participate in the release of a book marking the centenary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), with which he has had a long association. Recalling a Tamil poem on the Sangh, he said it likens the organisation to the holy Ganga, which flows selflessly for the welfare of others, symbolising the spirit of service that has guided the Sangh through its century-long journey.

Appreciating the authors for capturing the ethos of the RSS, Shri Radhakrishnan said the Sangh’s journey has been one of reviving, reinforcing and rebuilding Bharat’s cultural roots, heritage and traditions. Referring to the book’s title, Service, Unity & Sacrifice, he said these ideals have inspired generations of volunteers. Service, he noted, reflects selfless commitment to society; unity reinforces the bonds that transcend India’s linguistic and cultural diversity; and sacrifice reminds us that enduring institutions are built through dedication, perseverance and selfless effort.

The Vice-President also underscored the RSS’s emphasis on character-building and leadership development through its daily shakhas. Quoting from the book, he described the shakha as “a workshop of the soul where the raw energy of youth is chiselled into national character.” He added that the essence of a Swayamsevak lies in enhancing the dignity of every responsibility entrusted to an individual by performing it with dedication and excellence.

Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan further said that the RSS has consistently promoted cultural continuity and national consciousness by fostering pride in India’s civilisational heritage, diverse traditions, languages and spiritual thought. He noted that the centenary is an occasion to acknowledge the dedication of lakhs of volunteers, adding that institutions endure only when sustained by conviction, commitment and the willingness of ordinary people to work for causes greater than themselves.

Referring to the chapter “A Swayamsevak as PM: The Modi Era”, the Vice-President said the book traces Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s journey from a Swayamsevak to Pradhan Sevak. He observed that the Prime Minister has consistently placed seva and the principle of “Rashtra Pratham” (Nation First) at the centre of governance, reflecting the RSS’s enduring emphasis on selfless service and nation-building.

Recalling his conversation with Union Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan noted that both had begun their public lives as grassroots functionaries associated with the movement inspired by Jayaprakash Narayan’s Total Revolution. Drawing an analogy with the Ganga, which begins as a small stream before becoming a mighty river, he said the RSS too had grown from humble beginnings into one of the world’s largest voluntary organisations.

The event was attended by Union Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly Shri Vijender Gupta, President of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Shri Ram Bahadur Rai, RSS Kshetra Sanghchalak Shri Pawan Jindal, co-authors Shri Shyam Jaju and Shri Anupam Trivedi, and Managing Director of Prabhat Prakashan Shri Prabhat Kumar, among other distinguished guests.