Modi visits RSS HQ for first time in 11 years
Calls RSS as India’s banyan tree of immortal culture;
By : Sonu Shrivastava
Update: 2025-03-30 18:42 GMT
Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur for the first time since becoming the PM 11 years ago. He also became the first sitting PM to visit the RSS headquarters. Modi paid homage to the founding fathers of the RSS and hailed the RSS as “India’s banyan tree of immortal culture and modernisation”.
The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for Madhav Netralaya’s new premises in Hingna. The eyecare facility was initially founded in 2014 in the memory of Golwalkar.
Modi was accompanied by RSS sarsanghchalak (chief) Mohan Bhagwat, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Dr Hedgewar Smruti Mandir, which holds the memorials dedicated to RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, and second chief M.S. Golwalkar.
“I am overwhelmed to visit the Smruti Mandir, which cherishes the memories of Param Pujaniya Dr Hedgewar and Pujya Guruji,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister had last visited the RSS headquarters in 2013 as chief minister of Gujarat. His visit assumed significance in the backdrop of tensions witnessed between BJP and the RSS during Lok Sabha general election 2024 after the BJP chief J.P. Nadda had said that the party did not need hand-holding of the RSS.
Addressing the gathering at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Madhav Netralaya Premium Centre, the Prime Minister said RSS volunteers are working selflessly in various spheres and parts of the country.
Addressing the gathering at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Madhav Netralaya Premium Centre, the Prime Minister said RSS volunteers are working selflessly in various spheres and parts of the country.
“Whether it is earthquakes, floods, or any natural calamities, the highly disciplined RSS swayamsevaks are always in the forefront, serving people and society at large. Like dutiful soldiers, they undertake the service, overriding their discomfort to help others. For RSS swayamsevaks, there is nothing like big or small work. As Guruji (M.S. Golwalkar) had said responding to a question on why RSS is called all-encompassing, it is like light which dispels darkness,” Modi said.
Modi further said “tapasya” of RSS in the last 100 years is showing fruits as the country approaches its target of ‘Viksit Bharat’ in 2047. “RSS is the banyan tree of India’s immortal culture and modernisation whose ideals and principles are to protect the national consciousness,” he said.
Modi had joined the RSS as a pracharak in 1972. Subsequently, he became a member of the BJP in 1987. Remembering the initial struggles and challenges at the time of the establishment of RSS in 1925, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the guidance of luminaries like Dr Hedgewar and Guruji will continue to empower the nation.
Modi also visited the Solar Defence and Aerospace Limited facility in Nagpur and inaugurated the Loitering Munition Test Range.