By The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is preparing to conclude its year-long centenary celebrations with a major public gathering in Delhi, where Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to address volunteers and invited citizens on November 29. The event is expected to bring together a large number of RSS workers as the organisation moves towards the close of its 100th year.
The venue for the gathering has not yet been finalised. According to sources in the Sangh, the RSS plans to have around one lakh Swayamsevaks in uniform, along with approximately 50,000 invited citizens, attend the programme. The meeting is being planned as the final major event under the organisation’s year-long ekatrikaran initiative, which has brought RSS volunteers together at different locations across the country.
Bhagwat likely to speak on RSS journey and national issues
Bhagwat is expected to speak about the RSS’s century-long journey and address a range of issues concerning the country. His public lectures have increasingly become an important platform for the organisation to explain its views on issues that have generated public debate.
Bhagwat was the first RSS chief to begin a series of periodic public lectures aimed at presenting the organisation’s position directly to a wider audience. The first such lecture took place in 2018. In August 2025, he also delivered a three-day lecture series at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi as part of the RSS centenary programme.
His recent public engagements have included interactions with the Indian diaspora in New York, including an address at Madison Square Garden, as well as visits to London and Toronto as part of the Sangh’s global centenary outreach.
Bhagwat also addressed young people in Mumbai on August 6. The programme came shortly after youth protests had taken place at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. However, RSS sources said the Mumbai interaction had been planned several months earlier and was not organised as a response to those protests.
A year of nationwide RSS outreach
The RSS had designed its centenary programme around a series of activities intended not only to mark the completion of 100 years but also to begin the organisation’s journey into its 101st year with greater public outreach.
One of the major initiatives was the Prabuddha Nagrik Sammelan, or conferences involving professionals and other sections of society. These programmes were held across districts and were aimed at engaging doctors, engineers, professors and other professionals in discussions around the Sangh’s ideas.
The organisation also undertook Griha Sampark, a door-to-door outreach campaign in neighbourhoods. During these interactions, RSS volunteers met residents and distributed literature about the organisation.
Another component was the organisation of Hindu Sammelans in rural and urban areas. The RSS described these gatherings as platforms for promoting Hindu unity and social harmony among different sections of society.
Panch Parivartan at the centre of centenary agenda
The RSS also placed its Panch Parivartan, or five transformations, at the heart of its centenary-year messaging. The five areas include social harmony, Kutumb Prabodhan or family awareness, civic responsibility, environmental protection and Swadeshi, or self-reliance.
Social harmony meetings, known as Samajik Sadbhav Baithaks, were also organised with an emphasis on addressing social divisions, including caste-related differences.
RSS All India Publicity Chief Sunil Ambekar had outlined the scale of the centenary preparations in July 2025. He said the Sangh had planned activities across its organisational network, including Mandals, Bastis, districts and blocks, with discussions focusing on social unity, harmony, India’s civilisational ideas, national pride and service.
The centenary programme has also included lecture series and international outreach efforts, allowing the organisation to engage with audiences both within India and overseas.
Delhi event to mark end of centenary programme
According to an RSS source, the proposed November 29 gathering in Delhi will be the concluding event under the ekatrikaran component of the centenary programme and will effectively bring the year-long celebrations to a close.
With a large gathering of volunteers and invited citizens expected, the Delhi meeting will provide Bhagwat with a platform to reflect on the RSS’s journey through its centenary year while outlining themes and priorities as the organisation enters its 101st year.
