• The Sangh Swayamsevaks serve people across the country and the world in different fields; therefore, it would not be appropriate to describe it merely as a service organization.
• The Sangh has no enemies, but those whose selfish interests may be threatened by its growth oppose it and spread lies about it.
• There is no organisation like Sangh. It is wrong to compare the Sangh with other organisations in order to understand it. Sanchalan is conducted in Gana-vesh, and merely observing this and calling it a paramilitary organisation would be incorrect.
• Our effort is that people’s opinions about the Sangh should be formed on the basis of facts, not on the false narratives spread by any third source.
• It would be misleading to compare the RSS Swayamsevaks’ parade to a paramilitary organization.
• Dr Hedgewar was not sent to the National Medical College in Kolkata to become a doctor; but to establish contact with the AnushilanSamiti and initiate revolutionary activities in western Bharat.
• Dr. Hedgewar remained devoted to the service of Bharat Mata throughout his life, as a result of the pledge he took before Goddess Kali as a member of the Anushilan Samiti
• The British were not the first to enslave us. Before them came Islam, before that the Shakas, before them the Kushans, and before them Alexander and the Huns.
• Dr. Hedgewar wondered whether our freedom would endure, since there are divisions within our society. Before independence, our country had been ruled by eight invaders, including the British and the Mughals
• After ten years of contemplation, Dr. Hedgewarfounded the Sangh on the day of Vijayadashami in 1925.
• Sangh is not competition. Sangh is not reaction. Sangh is not opposition. Sangh is not working for achievement. Sangh has come to fulfil, not to destroy.
• Sangh was born out of Dr. Hedgewar’s deep anguish and concern for the plight of the nation. Therefore, his aim was to organise the entire Hindu society.
• The goal of the Sangh is the organisation of the entire Hindu society, but it is not aimed to oppose others.
• The idea that we became a nation only after the arrival of the British is incorrect. Bharat has existed since ancient times. Not only in Sri Aurobindo’s Uttarpara speech, but even the communist leader Rajani Palme Dutt wrote in his book that democracy and similar systems did not come because of the British. Even if they had not come, we could have governed ourselves based on the principles of the Vedas.
• The responsible society for this country is the Hindu society
• The destiny of a country is shaped by the character and quality of its society. To achieve this, we must work on ‘Vyakti Nirman’. And Sangh has taken up this mission to organise Hindu society
• Hindu is name of a way of being…Anyone in Bharat who follows or believes in this nature is a Hindu. It is because of this land that we have become like this — therefore, this is the land of the Hindus.
• We have to organise society; we do not have to create any separate organisation within society
• Hindu is not a name, but an attribute. Whether one’s worship or language is native or foreign, anyone who respects this culture and honours the motherland is a Hindu.
• A Hindu is inclusive, who, despite differences in food habits, worship methods, and attire, carries the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam—the belief that the whole world is one family and wishes for the well-being of all. We looked within ourselves and found unity in diversity.
• Even scientists agree that the DNA of those living on the Indo-Iranian plate has been the same for 40,000 years. The people living on this motherland have shared the same DNA for 40,000 years. From this perspective, the people living in Bharat are Hindus. Some proudly say, “We are Hindus.” Some say, “What is the need to say it?” Some whisper it quietly, and some have forgotten that they were Hindus. This thought is not only of the Sangh; it is the Sanatan (eternal) idea.
• To forget everything else for an hour and contemplate for the nation, that is the essence of the Sangh Shakha.
Kolkata Lecture Series – 100 Years of the Sangh’s Journey: “New Horizons”
