Santosh Yadav, 1st woman to scale Mt Everest twice, is chief guest at RSS event

Santosh Yadav is the first woman to climb Mount Everest twice – first in May 1992, and then again in May 1993

NAGPUR: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has invited acclaimed mountaineer Santosh Yadav to be the chief guest at its annual Dussehra function to be held on October 5 in Nagpur. This will be the first time in the Sangh’s history that a woman will be the chief guest at the event, RSS functionaries said.

Santosh Yadav, 1st woman to scale Mt Everest twice, is chief guest at RSS event

Mahanagar Sanghchalak Rajesh Loya said the RSS has invited Yadav as chief guest at the Dussehra function where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will deliver his customary Vijayadashami speech on the occasion. The annual Vijaydashmi address is one of the main events in the Sangh’s almanac and is an occasion where the RSS chief puts forth the Sangh stance on important issues. The speech is also closely watched for the message that the Sangh has for the government.

Santosh Yadav is the first woman to climb Mount Everest twice – first in May 1992, and then again in May 1993 – with an Indo-Nepalese team. She is also the first woman to successfully climb Mount Everest from the Kangshung Face, the eastern-facing side that is considered much more difficult than the other sides. She was awarded the National Adventure Award in 1994 and Padma Shri in 2000.

RSS functionaries said the invitation to Santosh Yadav was in line with Mohan Bhagwat’s strong stance on women’s rights that he has articulated in his speeches over the past few years. Bhagwat has underlined how women were regarded as the jagat janani (mother of the universe) outside but treated at home as a “slave”, said that women empowerment should begin at home and stressed that India could become a world leader only if there was “equal participation of women”.