RSSFACTS: The festivals were chosen which share RSS’s objectives and it helps the organisation to expand across various sections of the society
By ARUN ANAND
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) celebrates six festivals at different times of the year. We have explained in last week’s column why and how three of these are celebrated. These were -Vijaydasahmi, Makar Sankranti and Varsh Pratipada. In this week’s column we will discuss the rest of the three.
Hindu Samrajya Diwas: This festival is different from the rest of the festivals celebrated by the RSS. “While the rest of the festivals celebrated by the RSS are also celebrated by the common people outside RSS also, it is the only festival which is generally not celebrated in the society at mass level. In fact, many people don’t even know that a historical event took place, which deserves to be celebrated,” mentions Sangh Utsav, a booklet published by an RSS inspired publication Suruchi Prakashan. This festival is celebrated to commemorate the coronation of Maratha warrior and King Chhatrapati Shivaji. The coronation was done on May 19, 1674. Along with this coronation, a Hindu empire came into existence officially as Shivaji himself announced that day, “Hindu self-rule should be established, that is the will of God.” He also said, “This kingdom does not belong to Shivaji but to the ‘dharma’.”
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