NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday unveiled a Rs 100 commemorative coin featuring Bharat Mata on Indian currency for the first time, along with a postage stamp, to mark the centenary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The move has sparked criticism from opposition parties, including the Congress and the Left, who accused the government of promoting the RSS’s ideological agenda.
The event, organised by the Ministry of Culture, comes a day ahead of the formal launch of RSS’s centenary celebrations, which traditionally begin on Vijayadashami in Nagpur.
The coin portrays Bharat Mata in Varada Mudra (gesture of giving), standing on a lotus with a lion beside her, holding the RSS flag. Three swayamsevaks are seen bowing before her in devotion. The coin also features the RSS motto: “Rashtray Swaha, Idam Rashtraya, Idam Na Mama” ("Everything is dedicated to the nation, everything is the nation's; nothing is mine"), with the years 1925–2025 inscribed to mark 100 years of the organisation.
Alongside the coin, a Rs 500 commemorative postal stamp was released showing RSS volunteers participating in the 1963 Republic Day Parade, with a secondary image depicting them engaged in social work. The stamp bears the motto: “Rashtra Bhakti – Seva – Anushashan” (Service to the Nation – Patriotism – Discipline).
Speaking at the launch, Prime Minister Modi praised the RSS for its role in nation-building. “For the first time in independent India’s history, Bharat Mata appears on our currency. This is a moment of great pride and historical significance,” he said.
“The Sangh has fought against the atrocities of the British. Its only interest has always been love for the nation.” Modi also said that RSS volunteers had sheltered freedom fighters and that many were jailed during the independence movement. “Despite being attacked and vilified, the Sangh never responded with bitterness. It has worked silently for society under the principle of 'Nation First',” he said.
The announcement triggered a strong reaction from Opposition parties, particularly the Congress and the Left, who called the move a misuse of state apparatus to promote the ideological agenda of the RSS. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) said the release of the coin and stamp was a “grave injury and insult” to the Constitution, which it claimed the RSS had “never accepted.”
In a statement, the CPI(M) Politburo said, “It is highly objectionable that an official coin should replicate the 'Bharat Mata' image of a Hindu goddess promoted by the RSS as a symbol of its sectarian concept of a Hindutva Rashtra.” It also accused the government of falsifying history by showing RSS volunteers at the 1963 Republic Day Parade.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also questioned the glorification of the RSS, pointing to Sardar Patel’s documented criticism of the organisation following Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.
“Is the Prime Minister aware of what Sardar Patel wrote to Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1948 about the RSS?” Ramesh posted on X. The Congress further stressed that the RSS did not participate in the freedom struggle and stood apart from the values of India’s anti-colonial movement.
BJP leaders, on the other hand, hailed the release as a recognition of a century of service. BJP Mahila Morcha president Vanathi Srinivasan said, “This is a proud moment. For the first time, Bharat Mata appears on our currency. The coin and stamp honour the contribution of the RSS over the past hundred years.”