Pranab Mukherjee and Mohan Bhagwat at Hedgewar Residence in Nagpur on Thursday. (Express Photo by Monica Chaturvedi)
Former President and Congress veteran Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday visited the birthplace of RSS founding Sarsanghachalak Keshav Baliram Hedgewar ahead of his much-anticipated speech at the concluding ceremony of the RSS’s Tritiya Varsh Training programme at the Sangh headquarters in Nagpur. Mukherjee was welcomed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. PTI quoted sources as saying Mukherjee’s visit to pay tributes to Hedgewar was not part of the former president’s scheduled itinerary and an impromptu decision was taken by him to do so.
This will be Mukherjee’s first speech from the RSS platform and one of his most important since the address on his last day as president. The 82-year-old is scheduled to reach the function venue at 6.30 pm, where he will address the RSS activists. The programme will be broadcast live on Facebook at RSSorg.
Accepting the invitation from the Hindutva group has sparked controversy, with some of his Congress colleagues and Left leaders expressing their reservations over his participation in the RSS meeting. On Wednesday, Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmistha added fuel to the fire by reminding her father that “by going to Nagpur, you are giving BJP/RSS full handle to plant false stories…but the speech will be forgotten, visuals will remain and those will be circulated with fake statements”.
Pranab Mukherjee says the country must move from violence and conflict to peace and happiness. He says despite India being one of the fastest growing economies, it ranks low in the happiness index. 'There's macroeconomic growth but India ranks low on happiness index,' says the former president. Pranab Mukherjee says there's a shloka in Parliament from Kautilya which says in the happiness of people lies the happiness of the king.
The former president calls the Indian Constitution a Magna Carta for social economic transformation of the country. "For us, democracy is not a gift but a separate task," Pranab Mukherjee says in his address to RSS workers. "We do not identify any enemy. That makes Bharat a democratic and united nation," the veteran Congress leader says.
Pranab Mukherjee says the concept of modern India was articulated from various Indian leaders and was not bound by race or religion. "A nation in the making conceptualizes the Indian state," the former president says. Mukherjee now goes on share the experience of his 50 years in public life.
Each conquerer and foreign element has been absorbed in India's cultural milieu, says Mukherjee. Delving into history, the former president says, "The emergence of Indian state can be traced back to the sixth century BC. For 600 years, there was Muslim rule in India, which was taken over by the East India company. After the first war of Independence, India was transferred to the estate of the Queen. However, one thing needs to be kept in mind, even after so many rulers, the 5000-year-old continuity of the civilisation remained," says Mukherjee.
"Indian nationalism emanated from universalism," says Pranab Mukherjee. He then gives a brief history of India till the East India Company's arrival in India. Speaks about how the company grew in India. "Any attempt at defining our nationhood in terms of dogma and identities or religion, region, hatred, and intolerance will only lead to dilution of our identity," Mukherjee says at RSS's Tritiya Varsh event.
Mukherjee says India derives strength from tolerance. "We accept and respect our pluralism and celebrate our diversity. Our national identity has emerged after a long drawn process of confluence and assimilation, the multiple cultures and faiths make us special and tolerant," the former president says.
Mukherjee speaks about ancient institutions of India that attracted students from outside as well. He also touches upon about various international travellers who came to India in ancient times and how they defined the nation.
The moment is here. Pranab Mukherjee begins his address. He is speaking in English. He says he will speak on nationalism and patriotism. "I am here amongst you to share my understanding with you of the concepts of nation, nationalism and patriotism in the context of India," says Mukherjee.
Saying that knowledge was the force that has the ability to unite India, Bhagwat says, "RSS was founded in 1925 and grew despite so many obstacles. RSS is very popular, we get love and affection from the society. We are a large organisation today but we cannot stop here. We are not working for popularity or fame. We want to take the country forward at all times."
Explaining its rationale behind inviting Pranab Mukherjee to the event, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says the organisation attempts to cultivate people who lead by example in every nook and corner of the country. He further says unregulated strength and power can be dangerous for society.
RSS is trying to bring everyone together in the country and not trying to establish itself as a Hindu outfit, asserts Mohan Bhagwat. "We must have a democratic mind," says Bhagwat.
Bhagwat says that everyone has a right to have a political opinion but there is a limit to opposing it. "We should realise that we are working for the betterment of the same country but some groups have selfish motives. Governments can do a lot but cannot keep an eye in every sphere. We need to take up the role individually as well," the RSS chief says.
In line with its call for 'Akhand Bharat', RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat further says, "Only when society at large participates in nation building, only then can governments deliver." Even before independence, everybody agreed that we need to work together for the nation but political differences are now dividing us, Bhagwat says. "The nation's future depends on common citizens," he says.
"Despite all our differences we are sons of mother India," Mohan Bhagwat says at RSS event in Nagpur. "RSS does not discriminate between Indian citizens. No Indian citizen is an alien for us. RSS believes in unity in diversity. Every citizen born in India is an Indian. It is his/her right to worship our motherland," Bhagwat says.
Bhagwat further says that no Indian is untouchable. "The RSS event takes place in the same way, year after year. We call dignitaries every year, those who can come grace the event with their presence. But all the discussion and opposition around who visits us and when is meaningless," the RSS chief says.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat starts speaking at the event. He welcomes Pranab Mukherjee and other dignitaries at the event. Bhagwat says the controversy surrounding Mukherjee's invite was uncalled for as it was RSS tradition to invite people not ascribing to its ideology. "The Sangh is the Sangh. Pranab Mukherjee will be Pranab Mukherjee. Attending RSS event won't change his ideology," says Bhagwat.
Pranab Mukherjee’s trip to Nagpur holds a lesson for Rahul Gandhi: Don’t be guided by the Left’s view of the Sangh. In this context, one may recall Mohan Bhagwat's speech in Pune two months ago. “‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ is just a political slogan. It does not belong to the language of the RSS,” he had said. A visit that shows the way - Read the article here.
The parade by RSS cadres is now over. An RSS official is now introducing the visitors and dignitaries present at the event. Former president Pranab Mukherjee, who is the chief guest at the event, is set to begin his address soon. Mohan Bhagwat felicitates Pranab Mukherjee with a bouquet.
RSS says India has an old tradition of exchanging ideas. "RSS and Pranab Mukherjee know that each other's views are poles apart but yet we forwarded the invitation and the former president accepted it. This is Indian tradition," the Hindutva body tweeted.
Reacting to Pranab Mukherjee hailing KB Hedgewar as 'great son of Mother India', Congress leader Hussain Dalwai says, "I had a lot of respect for him but perhaps because of his age he thought he should do something wrong before making an exit. (Unke prati bada aadar tha, shayad umar ki wajah se jaate jaate kuch galat baat kardun aisa laga hoga unko)."
With the RSS event underway in Nagpur, Congress has gone on an attacking spree against the Hindutva body. "It is imperative for all Indians to know what the RSS has historically stood for and to understand what it thinks today. People of India should never forget how antithetical their ideologies are to the idea of India," the party tweeted.
Before the event, Pranab Mukherjee and Mohan Bhagwat offered their homage at the samadhi of Dr Hedgewar.
RSS flag unfurled at RSS's Tritiya Varsh event. Former president Pranab Mukherjee is seated in the stage and currently the around 700 RSS cadres who are 'passing out' at today's event are performing a drill. RSS mentioned in a tweet that 6 shikshaks (trainers), 39 Prant Pramukhs & 120 prabandhaks have toiled day and night to ensure that the camp runs smoothly. 707 swayamsevaks will be completing their varg this year. Of them, 191 are Post Graduates and 375 are graduates.
Congress hits out at RSS as former president Pranab Mukherjee reaches event venue.
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma on Thursday said the images of Pranab Mukherjee at RSS headquarters had anguished millions of Congress workers. "The images of Pranab Da, veteran leader and ideologue at RSS Headquarters have anguished millions of Congress workers and all those who believed in pluralism, diversity and the foundational values of the Indian Republic," he tweeted. Sharma further said dialogue with RSS won't be fruitful. "Dialogue can only be with those who are willing to listen, absorb and change. There is nothing to suggest that RSS has moved away from his core agenda as it seeks legitimacy," the Congress spokesperson said.
Despite all the hullabaloo surrounding the RSS event, the former president has himself remained calm and unfazed by the controversy. Pranab Mukherjee said he would respond to the requests urging him to reconsider his decision in his address at the organisation’s Nagpur headquarters. “Whatever I have to say, I will say in Nagpur. I have received several letters, requests and phone calls, but I haven’t responded to anyone yet,” the former president was quoted by Bengali newspaper Anandabazar Patrika as saying.
Senior Congress leader Sushil Kumar Shinde has said Pranab Mukherjee accepting an invitation to attend an RSS event was “not wrong” as the latter was a secular person and a very good thinker. “Pranab Mukherjee is a secular person. He will always put forth a secular view which he will do there (at the RSS event) as well. He is a very good thinker, and his going there and speaking on that platform is very important,” Shinde had said.
In a tweet, RSS mentions that it is customary to invite people who have made significant contributions to national life as chief guest and have the benefit of their experience. In line with this, Sri Pranab Mukherjee was extended an invitation.
On Monday, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma had a surprise meeting with Mukherjee. It is not known whether the issue of former President Pranab Mukherjee attending an RSS event at its Nagpur headquarters came up for discussion. While what they talked about remained a mystery, the timing of the meeting is significant. Mukherjee and Sharma were cabinet colleagues and both are Congress historians.
Even as the visit stokes outrage in some circles, no swayamsevak has expressed reservations about a Congress stalwart on an RSS platform. Why is it so? For the answer, we need to understand the roots of the difference in the two responses. Read the article here
In the visitor's book at RSS founder KB Hedgewar's birthplace in Nagpur, Pranab Mukherjee wrote, "Today I came here to pay my respect and homage to a great son of Mother India."
Watch: Former President Pranab Mukherjee in conversation with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat at RSS founder KB Hedgewar's birthplace in Nagpur.
Former President Pranab Mukherjee arrives at Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founder KB Hedgewar's birthplace, welcomed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
On Wednesday, Pranab Mukherjee’s surprise move to address the RSS event triggered a controversy with his daughter and Congress leader Sharmistha Mukherjee taking to Twitter to warn him of the BJP’s “dirty tricks department”. The Delhi Congress women's wing chief wrote that the veteran leader’s decision had given the BJP and its ideological parent, RSS, “full handle” to plant rumours and false stories. She also cautioned her father that his speech will be “will be forgotten”, but the visuals “will be circulated with fake statements”.
“Hope @CitiznMukherjee realises from today’s incident, how BJP’s dirty tricks department operates. Even RSS wouldn’t believe that you are going to endorse its views in your speech. But the speech will be forgotten, visuals will remain and those will be circulated with fake statements,” Mukherjee tweeted.
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Thursday joined the list of leaders expressing their disapproval at former president Pranab Mukherjee visiting the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. Patel, political secreatary to Sonia Gandhi, said Mukherjee's move was unexpected. 'I did not expect this from Pranab da!' Patel said in his one line tweet.
The 25-day camp during April-May has a strict routine. Swayamsewaks have to rise at 4 am and go to bed at 10.30 pm, with just one break — about an hour after lunch. Normally, they take physical training for two hours in the morning and another two hours in the evening. The physical training includes various drills, unarmed combat including in judo, karate and dandayuddha (stick fight). The daily programme also includes two meetings among different groups based on age, education, field of work etc, and a joint session for participants, called bauddhik.
While Pranab Mukherjee's acceptance of the RSS invite has generated much controversy, the Hindutva group has been known to invite people not ascribing to its ideology. One of the earliest examples was former Central Provinces Home Minister Sir Moropant Joshi in 1933, during Hedgewar’s time. The RSS often refers to a voluntary visit to the Wardha RSS camp by Mahatma Gandhi on December 25, 1934.
In 2017, 5,716 swayamsewaks attended first-year camps, 3,796 attended second-year camps and 899 attended the third-year camp. Participants travel at their own cost, and pay fees. The trainers of camps at all three levels must themselves have been trained up to the third year. These camps are for age group 18-45; those over 45 years are trained in special camps.
The event to which the RSS has invited former President Pranab Mukherjee, Sangh Shiksha Varg, is an annual training camp, meant for recruits in their third year in the organisation. The RSS holds training camps for first-, second- and third-year swayamsewaks. The first-year camp, for beginners, is a 20-day event held in each of the 42 state units (prants).
The second-year camp, again of 20 days, is organised at the level of kshetra, with each kshetra comprising a number of prants. The RSS has 11 kshetras. The third-year camp, to which Mukherjee has been invited, is always held on the Smruti Mandir premises at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. It is a 25-day event, having initially started as one of 40 days before successive reductions.
Welcome to our live blog. The first reaction of the day comes from former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who says that Pranab Mukherjee's speech in Nagpur will be in favour of the nation. "I'm sure that Pranab Mukherjee won't say anything in Nagpur which isn't in favour of the nation. In fact, whatever he says, will be in favour of country. I've no issues with him attending that event. He's free to go wherever he wants to," the senior Congress leader said.