‘Largest NGO in world’: Modi lauds RSS for national service

This is the first time that the PM has acknowledged the role of the RSS in his Independence Day speech.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday described the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as the “largest NGO in the world” as he praised the organisation for its selfless devotion to “nation building”, saying its “service to the nation constitutes a proud and golden chapter”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi salutes during address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on 79th Independence Day. (ANI)

The RSS, which is celebrating its centenary, is the ideological fount of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the Sangh’s volunteers who contributed to the nation over the years. This is the first time that the PM has acknowledged the role of the RSS in his Independence Day speech.

“Our clear belief is that this country is not built by governments alone; it is not built only by those who hold the reins of state power; it is not built solely by those who administer governance. This nation is built by the toil of crores of people — by sages, saints, scientists, teachers, farmers, soldiers, workers, labourers — everyone’s efforts contribute to nation-building. Contributions come from individuals and from institutions alike,” he said.

“One hundred years ago, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was founded. These 100 years of service to the nation constitute a proud and golden chapter. With the resolve of nation-building through character-building, with the aim of serving Maa Bharati, the swayamsevaks have, for a century, dedicated their lives to the welfare of the motherland,” he said, adding that “service, dedication, organisation, and unmatched discipline” have been the RSS’s hallmarks.

“In a sense, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the world’s largest NGO, with a century-long history of devotion,” Modi said. “Today, from the ramparts of the Red Fort, I salute all the swayamsevaks who have contributed to this century-long journey of national service, and the nation takes pride in this grand and dedicated journey of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which will continue to inspire us.”

The PM’s praise for the organisation was perceived by party leaders as a statement that scotches speculation of unease between the party and the political mentor. “As PM, he has ensured that the ideology and belief system of the Sangh found resonance in policies… from the government’s thrust on social welfare to the construction of the [Ayodhya] Ram Temple and now the setting up of a demographic mission are all inspired by the Sangh’s ideology,” a senior party leader saic on the condition of anonymity.

The Opposition, however, criticised PM Modi for making a reference to the Sangh in his public address.

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi described Modi’s praise of RSS as an “insult to the freedom struggle”.

“The RSS and its ideological allies served as British foot soldiers. They never joined the fight for independence and hated Gandhi more than they ever opposed the British,” Owaisi said in a post on X. “The ideology of Hindutva believes in exclusion and is antithetical to the values of our Constitution. Modi could have gone to Nagpur to praise RSS as a swayamsevak, why did he have to do it from the Red Fort as the Prime Minister?”