Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat on 30 August declared that the organisation renders service to people irrespective of their religion, citing RSS volunteers' response to the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision over Haryana — one of the deadliest aviation disasters in history — as evidence of that commitment. Bhagwat was addressing the 'One World, One Humanity' gathering of religious leaders in New York.

Service Without Discrimination

Speaking to an audience of interfaith leaders, Bhagwat said RSS volunteers have never asked about the religion or identity of those they assist. He described the organisation's response to the Charkhi Dadri collision, in which a Saudi Arabian Airlines aircraft and a Kazakhstan Airlines plane collided mid-air, killing all 349 people aboard.

'Both were from Arab countries. Most of the passengers were Muslims,' Bhagwat said, noting that volunteers treated survivors, recovered bodies, helped arrange funeral rites, and later assisted relatives in identifying victims. 'We never thought at that time that these are Muslims,' he added.

Dialogue and Service Must Run Together

Bhagwat framed service as inseparable from interfaith dialogue. 'Dialogue is the first step. Service is another. Not one step after that. It had to start simultaneously,' he said. He added that the RSS currently runs 1,30,000 service initiatives of varying scales, supported by volunteers and society at large.

He attributed the organisation's ability to serve without bias to the fact that it operates outside electoral politics. 'We could do this because we are not in politics,' he said. 'We do it. We only give. We don't want anything.'

Correcting Perceptions About the RSS

Bhagwat acknowledged that the RSS has been the subject of negative narratives, which he attributed partly to the organisation's own reluctance to publicise its work. 'That is why in publicity matters we are much behind,' he said. 'There are many perceptions created by wrong narratives. But when you come and see us from inside, all those will be displayed within a day.'

He invited the religious leaders present to observe the RSS from within before forming conclusions about it.

Service as a Transformative Force

The RSS chief argued that selfless service creates a ripple effect among those who receive it. Describing beneficiaries who later returned to help others without being prompted, he said: 'This project has given me so much. I have to give back.' He added, 'We don't preach them to do this. But that urge develops.'

Bhagwat urged religious leaders at the gathering to build similar examples of selfless service in their own countries and sustain them through ongoing dialogue.

Background: The RSS at 100

The RSS was founded in Nagpur in 1925 by K.B. Hedgewar and marked its centenary in 2025. The organisation maintains a nationwide volunteer network, with affiliated bodies active in education, social service, labour welfare, and tribal development. The 1996 Charkhi Dadri collision, which claimed 349 lives, remains among the worst mid-air disasters in aviation history.