Subhechcha Ganguly 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday described caste-based discrimination and untouchability as a “big challenge” for the Hindu community, while lauding the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for its efforts to combat such social ills. Speaking at the centenary celebrations of the RSS in Delhi, he said the organisation has consistently worked to promote equality and unity in society.
Recalling Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to a Sangh camp in Wardha, the Prime Minister noted that Gandhi had praised the spirit of compassion and harmony in the organisation. “Every leader and member of the Sangh has fought against discrimination and untouchability. Every Hindu is part of one family. No Hindu can ever be patit (low or outcast),” PM Modi said.
He also cited the words of former RSS chief M.D. Deoras, who had famously remarked: “If untouchability is not sin, then there is no sin in the world.” PM Modi added that current RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had set a clear social goal of “one well, one temple and one cremation ground” for all, rejecting caste-based divisions.
Warning against threats to unity, the Prime Minister said, “India’s soul has always been rooted in unity in diversity. If this principle is broken, India’s strength will diminish.” He further remarked that “demographic manipulation” posed a bigger challenge than infiltration, as it directly impacted the country’s internal security and long-term peace.
The RSS, founded in 1925 by K.B. Hedgewar in Nagpur, has long presented itself as a volunteer-based organisation. Modi, himself a former RSS pracharak before joining the BJP, also questioned the Sangh’s past reluctance to embrace the national flag, asking, “Why did you oppose the tricolour flag, which is India’s honour, pride, and glory? Why was the tricolour not hoisted at RSS headquarters for 52 years?”
