Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat will address more than 2,000 students from over 100 cities at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai on 6 August, during the inaugural session of the International Movement to Unite Nations (IIMUN) annual championship conference. The interaction, focused on leadership, nation-building, and India's role in global unity, is part of what organisers describe as one of the world's largest youth-led conferences.

What the Conference Is About

The inaugural session of the IIMUN conference will centre on the theme 'The Role of Youth in Uniting the World, the Indian Way'. The annual gathering brings together students aged 15 to 19 years, drawn from schools and colleges across the country. This year marks the 15th anniversary of the IIMUN championship, making the edition particularly significant in the organisation's history.

This will be the third occasion on which Bhagwat has attended an IIMUN event to engage with younger generations — a signal of the RSS's sustained interest in direct dialogue with youth on questions of identity, governance, and national purpose.

Who Else Is Attending

Beyond Bhagwat, the conference is expected to draw several prominent figures. Actor Shabana Azmi, actor Boman Irani, and former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud are among those scheduled to participate. The presence of voices from across ideological and professional spectrums reflects IIMUN's stated commitment to exposing young people to diverse streams of thought.

What the Organisers Said

IIMUN founder Rishabh Shah said the organisation has consistently focused on helping young people understand India's values while preparing them for leadership roles. He noted that nearly 30,000 students have been associated with IIMUN over the years.

Shah made a pointed call for ideological breadth in youth education: 'I believe that organisations like RSS and Indian National Congress, along with other prominent institutions, should be studied by the younger generations. These organisations have different ideologies, and hence, the new generation should learn about them,' he said.

He further emphasised the need for convergence across political traditions: 'No matter what the ideology is, at the end of the day, when we think about Bharat, everyone needs to come together, engage to build leaders of the young Indians as we need all — Savarkar, Sardar Patel, Swami Vivekanand and Mahatma Gandhi — especially this generation,' Shah added.

Why It Matters

The event comes at a moment when young Indians are increasingly vocal in conversations around democracy, governance, and national identity. Bhagwat's participation in a platform that also features figures from the arts, judiciary, and across the political spectrum is notable — it positions the RSS chief in a deliberately pluralist setting rather than a purely ideological one.

This is the kind of soft-power outreach that large organisations deploy to shape how the next generation perceives institutional legitimacy. With Gen Z and Gen Alpha — the cohorts most likely to vote and lead in the next two decades — as the audience, the stakes of such conversations extend well beyond a single conference day.

What Happens Next

The IIMUN conference is expected to continue beyond the inaugural session, with student-led deliberations on global and national themes. How Bhagwat's address is received — and what specific positions he articulates on youth, leadership, and India's global role — will likely draw attention from political observers and commentators in the days ahead.