Pranab Mukherjee RSS Uproar Became a Turning Point: Vaidya
Former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar launched book by Manmohan Vaidya. (Image Suruchi Prakashan)
Former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar launched Dr. Manmohan Vaidya’s book Hum Aur Yeh Vishv in Bhopal, calling it a powerful text that revives India’s civilisational confidence.
By TRH News Desk
Bhopal, November 21, 2025 — Bhopal witnessed a wide-ranging discussion on India’s cultural foundations and civilisational confidence on Sunday as former Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar released RSS senior pracharak Manmohan Vaidya’s new book Hum Aur Yeh Vishv, published by Suruchi Prakashan. The event, held at Ravindra Bhavan, brought together scholars, religious leaders and thinkers for a deep dive into the ideas shaping India’s intellectual landscape.
Calling the book “a mirror to India’s glorious past and a guide to building its future,” Dhankhar said it was a privilege to speak at the launch. Drawing from the author’s eight years of writings, he described the volume as a significant contribution that includes two important essays on former President Pranab Mukherjee. “This book has the power to awaken those who are asleep,” he remarked.
In his address, Vaidya spoke of the need to understand India before attempting to build it. “First accept India, then understand India, then become India—and only then can we build India,” he said, explaining the philosophy behind his writings.
He recalled the moment that pushed him toward sustained writing: the protests that erupted when Pranab Mukherjee was invited to address the RSS’s third-year training camp. The incident, he said, reaffirmed the need for open dialogue. In June 2018 alone, 378 people sought meetings with him, reflecting what he described as a “growing societal curiosity about the RSS.”
Vaidya argued that opposition to the Sangh often ends up expanding its acceptance. Citing data from the Join RSS website, he revealed that 48,890 people applied to become volunteers in a single month—October 2018—underscoring what he called the organisation’s rising appeal amid social change.
Touching on India’s civilisational concepts, he questioned popular narratives that portray the country as culturally diverse. “India’s culture is one—it manifests in diverse forms, but the roots are the same,” he said. He also challenged the notion of India as a welfare state, asserting that social responsibility in the country traditionally rested with communities, not the government.
Vaidya noted that the book is divided into four key sections, each offering a fresh lens on India’s debates. Speaking briefly in English, he said he wanted to reach those who “refuse to see India’s positive reality,” emphasising that today’s India is changing rapidly and emerging as a confident, assertive global power.
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