CM Pema Khandu greets RSS on its 101st Foundation Day
Synopsis
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu greeted RSS Swayamsevaks worldwide on the organisation's 101st Foundation Day, calling for 'Nation First, Always First' as BJP leaders across India observed the annual Vijayadashami milestone.
Key Takeaways
Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu posted greetings on 20 October 2026 for the RSS's 101st Foundation Day .
The RSS was founded on 27 September 1925 by K.B.
Hedgewar in Nagpur; its Foundation Day is observed annually on Vijayadashami.
Khandu's message carried the slogan 'Nation First, Always First' and the call 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai.' BJP leaders routinely issue public greetings to the RSS on its foundation day, reflecting the party's Sangh Parivar roots.
Arunachal Pradesh has been under BJP governance since 2016 , with Khandu as Chief Minister.
A milestone century — and then one more. On Tuesday, 20 October 2026, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu extended warm greetings to Swayamsevaks worldwide as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh marked its 101st Foundation Day.
Posting on X, Khandu wrote: 'Warmest greetings to all Swayamsevaks across the world on the 101st Foundation Day of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Nation First, Always First. Bharat Mata Ki Jai!' The message, signed off with the signature rallying call, captured the tenor of tributes that poured in from BJP leaders across the country on the occasion.
A century-old organisation enters its second hundred years
The RSS was founded on 27 September 1925 in Nagpur by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, who sought to build a disciplined, character-driven cadre rooted in Hindu nationalist ideology. Its annual foundation day is observed on Vijayadashami, the festival that marks the triumph of good over evil — a date the organisation has kept since its very first year. Crossing the 100-year mark and now stepping into its 101st year places the RSS in a rare club of ideological organisations with an unbroken century of mass mobilisation.Khandu's message in the pattern of BJP–Sangh solidarity
For BJP leaders, foundation-day greetings to the RSS are a near-universal ritual — one that publicly signals the party's deep organisational roots in the Sangh Parivar. Khandu, who has led Arunachal Pradesh under BJP governance since the party first came to power in the northeastern state in 2016, has consistently maintained that alignment. The brevity of the message — 'Nation First, Always First' — carries the weight of a shared ideological shorthand that needs no elaboration for its intended audience. As Swayamsevaks mark the day with shakhas and events across states, greetings like Khandu's serve as visible markers of the BJP's continuing institutional bond with the organisation that gave it its organisational DNA. The 101st year is not just a number — it is a statement of durability.Point of View
Formulaic, and ideologically loaded all at once. The 101st Foundation Day carries symbolic weight beyond a round number: it marks the RSS entering its second century with the BJP in power at the Centre, underscoring how intertwined the two organisations' electoral and organisational fortunes have become. For a BJP leader governing a frontier state like Arunachal Pradesh, such gestures also serve a domestic political function — reinforcing cadre morale and Sangh loyalty at the grassroots. The message is less a news event than a data point in the BJP's year-round effort to keep its ideological base energised.
NationPress
20 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the RSS founded and by whom?
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was founded on 27 September 1925 in Nagpur by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar .
Why is RSS Foundation Day celebrated on Vijayadashami?
The RSS has observed its Foundation Day on Vijayadashami since its very first year in 1925, choosing the festival — which marks the victory of good over evil — as a symbol of the organisation's ideological mission.
What did Pema Khandu say on RSS Foundation Day 2026?
Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu extended 'warmest greetings to all Swayamsevaks across the world' on the 101st Foundation Day and invoked the slogan 'Nation First, Always First. Bharat Mata Ki Jai!'
What is the connection between the BJP and the RSS?
The BJP traces its organisational lineage to the RSS and is considered part of the broader Sangh Parivar. Senior BJP leaders and state chief ministers routinely issue public greetings to the RSS on occasions like its Foundation Day.
Since when has the BJP been in power in Arunachal Pradesh?
The BJP has governed Arunachal Pradesh since 2016 , with Pema Khandu serving as Chief Minister.
