RSS Centenary Sparks Debate on Women’s Role and New Parameters of Growth
New Delhi: As the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) prepares to celebrate its centenary, a book launch event in the capital has triggered important conversations about the organization’s future vision. The program, held just days ahead of the centenary workshop in Delhi, saw India Today’s Executive Editor-in-Chief Kalli Puri present two significant suggestions before RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Her interventions not only challenged traditional notions of progress but also questioned the place of women in the decision-making framework of the Sangh as it looks toward the next 100 years.
Kalli Puri suggested that India should begin to measure its progress not just through economic indices like Gross Domestic Product but also by what she called Gross Domestic Behaviour. This proposed parameter, according to her, would capture the collective social and moral behaviour of society, which in many ways defines the true well-being of a nation. In recent years, thinkers, academics and policymakers have increasingly argued that GDP alone cannot adequately reflect the state of a country, and Puri’s remarks echoed that sentiment. Her suggestion, coming in the presence of the RSS chief, added weight to the idea that development must be rooted not just in material wealth but also in values and behaviour.
Equally striking was her second suggestion, where she asked whether in the next 100 years the RSS would be willing to place women at the very center of its decision-making processes. This question went to the heart of long-standing debates about gender representation in socio-cultural organizations. While women’s participation has been visible in many affiliate groups, their presence in the central decision-making bodies of the Sangh has often been questioned. By putting this query before Bhagwat, Puri directly raised the issue of inclusivity at a moment when the RSS is seeking to define its vision for the coming century.
Responding to these suggestions, Mohan Bhagwat acknowledged the importance of both points and emphasized that women already have a role in the RSS’s highest decision-making platforms. He explained that the Pratinidhi Sabha, the apex decision-making body, regularly invites women leaders from affiliated organizations. In these forums, he noted, women are active participants, contributing their perspectives, joining in discussions and shaping outcomes alongside their male colleagues. Bhagwat underlined that the decisions of the Sabha are always collective and that the involvement of women is an integral part of this process. His acceptance of the Gross Domestic Behaviour concept and reassurance regarding women’s participation indicated an openness to adapting while holding firm to the Sangh’s collective ethos.
The exchange between Puri and Bhagwat comes in the build-up to the RSS centenary workshop scheduled to be held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi from August 26 to 28. This three-day event, to be presided over by Bhagwat, will serve as a major milestone in the organization’s history. Leaders, intellectuals and representatives from across the country are expected to gather to reflect on the RSS’s 100-year journey and to discuss its roadmap for the future. Themes such as nation-building, cultural integration, women’s empowerment and alternative frameworks for development are likely to dominate the discussions. The fact that Puri’s remarks came just days before this workshop means that they may influence the agenda, particularly the call to link growth with ethical behaviour and to expand women’s role in decision-making.
Beyond the immediate context of the Sangh, the debate also reflects a wider societal shift. Across India, questions of inclusivity, ethics and moral values are being raised in politics, business, academia and social life. By engaging with these suggestions publicly, the RSS chief has signaled that the organization is willing to engage with new ideas while remaining rooted in its traditions. For many observers, this indicates that as the Sangh moves into its second century, it will not shy away from introspection or from adapting to the aspirations of a changing society.
The book launch, intended as a prelude to the centenary events, therefore became much more than a ceremonial occasion. It turned into a stage for critical questions about the future of the RSS and, by extension, the cultural direction of the country. With Kalli Puri urging a shift in how progress is measured and calling for women to be placed at the center of organizational decision-making, and with Mohan Bhagwat responding by acknowledging both the need for new parameters and the importance of women’s contributions, the conversation set the tone for the upcoming centenary workshop.
As the RSS steps into its next hundred years, these exchanges are likely to resonate far beyond the walls of Vigyan Bhawan. They point to a future where the measure of India’s progress may not only be calculated in economic numbers but also in the collective behaviour of its people, and where the role of women in shaping decisions will be recognized as central rather than peripheral. The centenary, thus, is not just a celebration of the past but an opportunity to redefine the future.
