HYDERABAD: RSS joint general secretary Dr Manmohan Vaidya on Friday said that there was nothing wrong in the National Education Policy’s India-centric approach as the country’s “spiritual heritage, unity in diversity, concepts of moksha, dharma and religion have not been adequately imparted through our education system”.
Addressing the media on the concluding day of the three-day Akhil Bharatiya Samanvaya Baithak (coordination meeting) of the RSS, he said there was nothing wrong if children were taught spiritual aspects through stories.
“Diversity should not be treated as differences. Though the stories might be different in various regions in the country, the meaning of stories under the new education policy would be the same,” he said. Observing that globalisation has brought the world together, he said the countries need to prosper together using the limited natural resources.
“India did have the resources and knowledge systems to show the direction to the world in its quest to become the greatest yet noble nation,” he explained. During the three-day conclave, he said deliberations (not decisions) took place on the education policy, addressing nutritional deficiencies, medical and health, persons with disabilities, farmers’ issues, employment generation and the activities of 36 autonomous bodies working under the umbrella of RSS. Around 216 representatives of those organisations, including 24 women, from across the country took part in the conclave.
As the country celebrates 75 years of Independence, he said that Sankar Bharti was planning to publish a book with stories of 250 unsung heroes who were part of the freedom struggle, in addition to enacting 75
dramas on those themes. Talking about the growth of RSS, he said that between 2017 and 2021, the organisation witnessed an overwhelming interest from youth across the country to join RSS. Over one lakh individuals joined the organisation every year through ‘Join RSS’ registrations on the website, Dr Vaidya said.
“Currently there are 55,000 daily shakhas (training sessions) being held across the world, out of which 60 per cent are youth shakhas and 40 per cent employees’ shakhas,” Manmohan Vaidya said. Among 6,000 blocks (mandals), 10 lakh Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh volunteers have been trained to serve the people during the third wave of Covid-19, the RSS Sah SAhkaryavah told the media.
Remembering Rabindranath Tagore’s writings in his book that India has not traditionally been a welfare state and that the idea had originated from the European countries, Dr Vaidya said this is where the work of RSS began in consolidating the society, making the people aware of the problems and seeking the government’s assistance to address them. The RSS is set to celebrate its centenary in 2025 and the three-day coordination is said to be part of its preparations for the event.