India: Sewa Bharti Sangh Parivar'scharitable face; 800 not-for-profits to participate in Delhi / Wipro's Azim Premji Says Attending RSS Event is Not an Endorsement

Azim Premji, Subhash Ghai and GM Rao to be chief guests at Sangh Parivar's charity event
By Vasudha Venugopal, ET Bureau | 4 Apr, 2015, 02.34AM IST

NEW DELHI: As the dust settles on the controversy stirred up by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat by linking Mother Teresa's work with conversion, the Sangh Parivar is trying to project its own charitable face.

More than 800 not-for-profit organisations, most of them affiliated to the Sangh, are set to participate in a three-day event starting Saturday on the outskirts of New Delhi.

It will showcase the social and charitable work done by predominantly Hindu organisations. The idea is to highlight the "compassionate side"of RSS and prove that social work wasn't something introduced to India by foreign missionaries. Industrialists Azim Premji and GM Rao, and film maker Subhash Ghai are expected to be chief guests at the inaugural function, which will be presided over by Bhagwat and attended by top RSS leaders and spiritual guru Mata Amritanandamayi.

It is after that the Sangh is holding an event of this kind, and it has been scaled up much higher this time with over 4,000 delegates from 836 RSS-affiliated organisations participating.

The event is being held to send out the message that "service to society has existed in the country from the beginning", said Ajit Prasad Mohapatra, the all-India Sah-Sewa Pramukh of RSS. "What the missionaries do is not of our concern. We have been doing service with a sense of responsibility, with the aim to make every Indian self-reliant with self-respect,"he said. "Our charity is driven by dharma, not daya."

At the event, the Sangh is expected to present the work done by its volunteers for Swachh Bharat, Kashmir floods and protection of cows, among others.

One of the key themes is cow protection.

"We will urge our volunteers and sevaks to go to farmers, villagers, and stop them from selling their old cows,"Mohapatra said. "Cows, once they stop giving milk, can be used for cow products such as cow urine and cow dung which can fetch good prices. People don't know this and fall to the lure of butchers."Sangh leaders are expected to speak on the importance of serving the society in a united way on Saturday.

"For instance, there are over a thousand NGOs that work in the area of protection of cows, but do all these NGOs know that we must be focussing on the protection of native breeds of cows and look at bringing down the hybrid variety? We learn by each other's experiences and so it is important that we remain united,"said Satish Agarwal, the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand incharge of Seva Bharati, the sangh's charity wing.

The participating NGOs include those that run hospitals, schools, cultural centres, old-age homes, blood banks, yoga centres, orphanages and leprosy centres.

To showcase its full network, the sangh has started linking its affiliated NGOs online. Out of its 400 NGOs, 96 have already been linked now, said sangh sources.

Similar events, but of a smaller scale, were held earlier this year in three cities, where the sangh put up stalls and brought out brochures on the free hostels, hospitals, colleges and ashrams being run by Hindu spiritual leaders. "People talk about the charity done by missionary activities with great gusto but for decades, the sangh has been doing work but never sought publicity,"Agarwal said.

"The sangh has always believed in working for the poorest of poor, maintaining door-to-door contact. We have always focussed on smaller projects, especially in rural areas, because that creates more impact, but less noise,"Agarwal said. "But we are also changing now, feeling the need to consolidate our activities and tell peoplewe are working for them."

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/azim-premji-subhash-ghai-and-gm-rao-to-be-chief-guests-at-sangh-parivars-charity-event/articleshow/46800991.cms?prtpage=1

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Wipro's Azim Premji Says Attending RSS Event is Not an Endorsement of Its Views
All India | Agencies | Updated: April 06, 2015 09:52 IST

New Delhi: Wipro Group chairman Azim Premji on Sunday said his presence at an event associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) didn't mean that he endorsed the views of the organization.

"Some people expressed apprehension that by attending a forum like this I would be seen as endorsing the ideology of the Sangh. I did not follow the advice because I am not a political person. I am however deeply interested in and concerned about my country. Also, I believe that merely speaking at a particular forum does not in any way mean that one endorses all, or any, of the views that might be expressed at the forum, or which may be held by the organisers," Mr Premji said, addressing a session attended by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

The 69-year-old industrialist, who is among India's richest men, was trending high on twitter as his presence at the function sparked a buzz.

The RSS is the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP and is widely believed to advise it politically.

The function on Sunday was organized by the "Rashtriya Sewa Bharati," a Sangh body that supports various organisations in the field of social work. Mr Premji said he respected the work they did, which was the reason for his presence.

"If there are differences of views or divergence of ideas they can be resolved through discussion and dialogue," he said.

Mr Premji later spoke on the need to increase public expenditure on school and higher education, which has gone down in the budget.

He said the government has to play a key role in school education and also advocated public investment in the field. "Private sector cannot substitute the role of the government in primary education," he said.
Other corporate heavyweights, including GMR Group chairman GM Rao and Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra, also attended the event.
Story First Published: April 06, 2015 08:50 IST

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/wipros-azim-premji-clarifies-after-attending-rss-event-752486

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Speech of Azim Premji at Rashtriya Sewa Sangam #Sewabharati Convention of NGOs working in the social sector
http://www.sewabharathi.com/2015/04/speech-of-azim-premji-at-rashtriya-sewa.html