PM unveils ₹100 coin, stamp at RSS centenary; first-ever depiction of Bharat Mata on Indian currency

To mark the completion of 100 years of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (October 1, 2025) released a specially designed commemorative postage stamp and coin highlighting the Sangh’s contributions to the nation. Terming RSS as the embodiment of ‘timeless national consciousness’, he said in the mission of building a developed India by 2047, the contribution of the Sangh will be crucial.

The ₹100 coin, released by the PM at Delhi’s Ambedkar International Centre, features the national emblem on one side and an image of ‘Bharat Mata’ in ‘Varad Mudra’ (hand position representing giving or granting blessings), with a lion, being saluted by swayamsevaks, on the other. Speaking on the occasion, PM highlighted that this is possibly the first time in independent India’s history that Bharat Mata’s image has appeared on Indian currency. He added that the coin also bears the Sangh’s guiding motto: “Rashtraya Swaha, Idam Rashtraya, Idam Na Mama.”

A view of a specially designed commemorative coin highlighting the RSS’s contributions to the nation, released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of the organisation’s centenary celebrations at the Ambedkar International Centre, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit:
ANI

Lauding RSS, PM said that a hundred years ago, on the sacred occasion of Vijayadashami, the Sangh was founded. He said that it was not the creation of something entirely new. It was a newer manifestation of an ancient tradition, where India’s eternal national consciousness expresses itself periodically, in different forms, to face the challenges of the times, he added.

“In our times, the Sangh is the embodiment of that timeless national consciousness. It is the good fortune of our generation of swayamsevaks that we are witnessing the Sangh’s centenary,” said PM.

Hailing Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, the founder of the RSS, Mr Modi detailed how Mr Hedgewar and many swayamsevaks actively participated in the freedom struggle and were even jailed in their fight for the nation. He said that Sangh also provided support and protection to many freedom fighters.

PM Modi also pointed out the ‘conspiracies’ which were planted to defame the Sangh and recalled how the second Sarsanghchalak, Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar, was falsely implicated in a case and even imprisoned.

“But the Sangh never allowed bitterness to take root. Swayamsevaks believe that we are not separate from society. Society is formed of us. This feeling of oneness with society and unshakable faith in the Constitution and constitutional institutions gave the swayamsevaks steadiness of mind and kept them sensitive towards society, even in the gravest crises,” PM said.

From coming forward to help refugees after partition to standing with the nation in every crisis even with limited resources, PM said that swayamsevaks are among the first responders and work at the frontline. Extending his greetings to the RSS volunteers, who remain dedicated to the pledge of serving the nation and its people, PM said that the Sangh, from its very inception, has devoted itself to nation-building. To achieve this, it chose the path of character-building.

“Vyakti nirmaan se rashtra nirmaan (nation-building through character-building) has been the Sangh’s path. For this, it created a unique, simple and enduring mechanism of the daily shakha. The shakha is an inspiring place where every swayamsevak begins his journey from ‘Me to We’ and goes through a process of personal transformation,” PM added.

Drawing a parallel between the RSS and a river which nourishing every region it passes through, PM said that Sangh’s journey mirrors this, with its various affiliated organizations engaging in national service across all facets of life—education, agriculture, social welfare, tribal upliftment, women empowerment, arts and sciences, and the labour sector.

“Though diverse in their fields of work, they all embody one spirit and one resolve that is Nation First” said PM Modi.

He highlighted how Sangh’s affiliates like Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Sewa Bharti, Vidya Bharti, and Ekal Vidyalayas that are working in the most remote, inaccessible parts of the country and are preserving and nurturing the traditions, customs, and values of tribal communities. PM also stressed on RSS’s call to fight social evils like caste discrimination, untouchability. He also echoed a similar message to that of Mr Bhagwat, who, in his multiple speeches, has called for ‘one well, one temple, one cremation ground’ for everyone to keep the society united.

With India advancing towards becoming a developed nation, PM said that the challenges in front of the nation are now new, which include dependence on foreign countries, conspiracies to divide India’s unity, demographic changes through infiltration etc.

“Our government is actively countering these. I am glad that the RSS too has prepared a concrete roadmap to face them. The Panch Parivartan of the Sangh gives every swayamsevak the path to overcome today’s challenges,” said PM.

The Panch Parivartan (five changes) is a framework coined by the RSS for nation-building in the years to come. The five points include creating self-awareness among people, creating social harmony by prioritising marginalised, instilling social and cultural values in the family and civic sense among masses along with Safeguarding the environment. 

“Guided by these resolutions, the Sangh now begins its journey into its next century. In the mission of building a developed India by 2047, the contribution of the Sangh will be crucial. Once again, my best wishes to every swayamsevak,” Mr. Modi added.

RSS is completing 100 years on the occasion of Vijayadashmi falling on October 02, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will deliver his keynote address on the occasion, in which former President Ram Nath Kovind will be the chief guest.

Published – October 01, 2025 05:16 pm IST