BHOPAL: While stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had enhanced India’s global stature and standing, RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said on Sunday that the country’s rapid rise on the global stage across economic, scientific and space sectors was driven by a vision of service rather than dominance.
Addressing a large gathering of 30,000-plus Swayamsevaks of RSS’s Madhya Bharat Prant at Bhopal Lal Parade Ground on Sunday, Hosabale said that the people of India and its scientists have earned a name for the country in various spheres at the global level. “The Prime Minister, while leading the country had enhanced India’s glory and stature internationally.”
“India's 5,000-year-old civilisational journey showed that the country had repeatedly risen after facing crises and conflicts. India’s rapid global emergence across economic, scientific, and space domains is driven by a vision of service rather than dominance. The nation rises not to bully (dadagiri) or exploit other countries, but to offer humanity a harmonious path combining material comfort and spiritual fulfilment. India will rise and progress not to dominate the world, not to exploit anyone, not to suppress the world through arrogance and not to crush anyone, but to serve humanity,” Hosabale said at the gathering which was part of the RSS’s centenary year programmes which are approaching their nationwide conclusion.
Just two days back, while addressing the Yuva Dharma Sansad in Ujjain, RSS chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat had said that “A person's ego can create a misconception that his reign and everything operates according to his authority and that he can control everything, citing the sun as an example of something beyond human control.”
Hosabale described India as Avinashi and Mrityunjaya Rashtra (immortal and death-conquering nation) and highlighted that while several ancient civilizations now exist only in museums, India remains a vibrant, living society that has withstood centuries of foreign invasions, internal conflicts, and struggles through selfhood (Swatva) and collective penance.
Making a strong pitch for ending caste discrimination, untouchability and regional divides, Hosabale termed caste discrimination-untouchability as a kalank (blot) on Hindu society.
"There should be no discrimination of any kind. Birth-based discrimination is entirely alien to Hindu culture and society," Hosabale remarked, citing the example of Lord Ram eating berries offered by Shabari as an eternal symbol of social equity.
He warned that untouchability and caste-based biases weaken and hollow out the nation from within, urging citizens to completely eliminate caste discrimination from their personal conduct and households.
"Strength resides in organisation," he said, citing the analogy of individual fingers uniting into a powerful fist. "To build a strong nation, we must move beyond narrow identities of caste, sect, language, and geography"
The RSS leader also stressed that patriotism cannot be confined to ceremonial occasions like August 15 or January 26, but must be practiced "24 hours a day, 365 days a year" through daily duty, ethical behaviour, and service.
Highlighting the RSS shakha as a medium for character building and selfless dedication, he cited relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and recent Upper Assam floods to illustrate how broader civil society, youth, and students are increasingly stepping forward alongside RSS volunteers.
Calling for grassroots-level community mobilisation as envisioned by Mahamana Madan Mohan Malaviya, Hosabale urged every village and neighborhood to foster healthy discourse, physical fitness through sports and yoga, and community vigilance. He emphasised the need for a "vigilant society" to safeguard local security and remain watchful against divisive or forced conversionary activities.
"The RSS has no ego that national service belongs to it alone; the goal is for the entire society to rise, unite, and take ownership of the nation's destiny," Hosabale concluded.