New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed the centenary celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), underscoring his deep-rooted connection with the organisation, which he has always called a “privilege” to be associated with its legacy.  In a podcast with Lex Fridman, broadcast earlier this year, he had reiterated how the RSS had given his life a purpose and instilled in him the values of selfless service.

PM Modi’s RSS background shaped his emphasis on discipline, nationalism, and cultural pride. Even as he transitioned into mainstream politics, the Sangh’s imprint remained visible in his rhetoric and policy priorities. Despite his ideological alignment and background as a ‘pracharak’, his public appearances at RSS events were relatively rare since becoming the Prime Minister in 2014. His duties that came with the office had kept him from regular participation in events hosted by what is seen as the ideological mentor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Some saw this as an institutional distance from the Sangh to preserve an image of constitutional neutrality, while others attributed it to his growing stature in the country’s polity.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when the BJP lost a few seats in comparison to the earlier Parliamentary election – especially in West Bengal and Jharkhand – critics pointed to the party’s “expanding chasm” with RSS. There were allegations of “discontent” within the party, “rift” between the old and the new – all pointing to the political party reportedly shifting farther from an organisation from which it derives ideological inspiration. Incidentally, RSS volunteers and its affiliated organisations have been working in the tribal and backward areas in such states for decades. Though officially it denies any political involvement, the Sangh has contributed a large number of leaders to the BJP. Thus, the “social work” undertaken by the organisation, or its affiliates, has sometimes been assumed as “politically motivated”.

So, when the BJP lost three Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand compared to the 12 it won in 2019, and climbed down in West Bengal from 18 (in 2019) to 12 (2024), some analysts attributed it to a conspiracy theory. On the contrary, when PM Modi hailed 100 years of RSS as a “very proud and glorious” journey of the “world's largest NGO” in his Independence Day speech, and lauded its volunteers for their dedicated service to the nation, the Opposition targeted him, calling it “shameful” and an “insult to the freedom struggle”.

Murmurs of discontent also arose from the same people who had accused him of “drifting away” from the Sangh when, as Prime Minister, he first visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur on March 30 this year. PM Modi’s visit to the RSS centenary celebration as the Chief Guest in New Delhi on Wednesday is also being viewed as carrying deep symbolic and political significance. As with his praise for RSS’s 100-year-long legacy as an “extraordinary example of sacrifice, selfless service, nation-building, and discipline”, and his unveiling of a Rs 100 coin and a postage stamp commemorating the event. Incidentally, the RSS marks its foundation day every year on Vijayadashami rather than the date it was established.