NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday lauded the RSS on its centenary, saying the organisation’s workers have always been devoted to the service and security of the nation, renouncing all comforts and luxuries. Shah, who termed himself a “proud swayamsevak”, said that from the leaders at the top to workers at the grassroots, numerous personalities have been shaped by the Sangh over its 100 years.

“Heartfelt congratulations on the centenary year of the world’s largest voluntary organisation, ‘Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh‘. In this grand journey of the Sangh centenary, I bow to all the dedicated workers of the RSS who have devoted their lives to the service, security, and empathy of Maa Bharati,” he said in his message. The home minister said it is not easy being a ‘swayamsevak’ and ‘pracharak’ who must renounce all comforts of life for the nation-building. “Over 100 years, countless swayamsevaks and pracharaks of the Sangh have demonstrated this through sacrifice and dedication,” he said, adding, “I am proud to be a swayamsevak myself.” Shah said under the leadership of Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, the Sangh, which began in Nagpur on the day of Vijayadashami in 1925 with a few people, has now become the world’s largest social organisation He said, be it the Hyderabad liberation struggle, the resistance against the Emergency, or the Goa liberation movement, the RSS has stepped in with its workers to commit to the cause. He said that with its assistance to brave soldiers in wars, opposition to Article 370 and the anti-infiltrator movement in the Northeast, the RSS took the job of nation-building to new heights. Be it desert or rugged forests, the inaccessible peaks of the Himalayas or remote villages, the Sangh has everywhere hoisted the flag of devotion and service to the “great sacred land,” he said. “By weaving forest-dwellers, backward classes, Dalits, deprived sections, and all strata of the country into the thread of unity, this centenary journey of the Sangh, which tirelessly contributes to the vision of a nation imbued with self-respect, will be written in golden letters in history,” Shah said.