Congress played big role in freedom struggle: Mohan Bhagwat

He said that the Rashtriya Swayansevak Sangh (RSS) does not believe in its own domination but in strengthening and enabling the society to take the nation forward.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Photo: File (PTI)

New Delhi: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday not only acknowledged Congress's contribution in freedom struggle but also admitted that the grand old party contributed to the country post Independence in a big way. His remarks came here during his address on the first day of the three-day lecture series on "Future of Bharat: An RSS Perspective". "Under Congress, a big movement started in the country. There were many great personalities who sacrificed their lives and who still inspires us. They inspired many common people to come forward for Independence. That stream (Congress) made a big contribution," he said. He said that the Rashtriya Swayansevak Sangh (RSS) does not believe in its own domination but in strengthening and enabling the society to take the nation forward. Presenting the Sangh's way of working and its views, Bhagwat said the Sangh's work is so unique that its comparison with any other organisation is not possible. "I will explain the working of the Sangh. My intention is not to convince you. Your judgement is your own prerogative. If you want to check out the facts that I give you, you must come closer to the Sangh and check for yourself," he said. "To understand the Sangh, one must understand its founder -- Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar," Bhagwat said and went on to relate the life and experiences that shaped Dr. Hedgewar. He related various anecdotes about Dr Hedgewar's life, his participation in the independence struggle and how he became convinced about the imperative need to train the people to create a strong and united society. He quoted many leaders and thinkers such as Rabindranath Tagore, communist thinker M.N. Roy, former President Dr Abdul Kalam, who came to believe that the society needs to be awakened to realise the strengths of its traditional values. Hedgewar, he said, interacted copiously with different ideologists and came to believe that all ideologies must come together to form a strong nation. Bhagwat said Dr Hedgewar felt the need to train people to work towards positively transforming the society and the nation. "It was with this objective that he announced the formation of the Sangh on Vijayadashmi day in 1925," he said. "RSS is a methodology. It's only work is 'vyakti nirman' (making good human beings). There should be good Swayamsevaks in every village and mohalla," he said. To bring out a positive change in the society, he said, the RSS objective is simply to motivate and train every Swayamsevak. Prominent personalities who attended the lecture series were Metro man E. Sreedharan, Manisha Koirala, Malini Awasthi, Anu Malik, Anu Kapur, Manoj Tiwari, Chetan Chauhan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Amar Singh, Swapandas Gupta, Madhur Bhandarkar, Hansraj Hans, Gajendra, and BJP leaders Ram Madhav, Ram Lal and Subramaniam Swamy. Several Union Ministers including Harshvardhan, Vijay Goel, Arjunram Meghwal and Alphons Kananthanam also attended the event.