In the run-up to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) centenary celebrations, the organisation's Himachal Pradesh is considering renaming the scheduled Hindu Sammelans as Dharam Sammelans or Bodh Sammelans in Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur districts, where the Buddhist population is significantly higher than in other parts of the state. Speaking to The Indian Express, Sanjay Kumar Ji, Prant Pracharak of the RSS in Himachal Pradesh, said on Monday, “We are planning to name the scheduled Hindu Sammelans either Dharam Sammelans or Bodh Sammelans, keeping in view the large population of followers of Buddhism in Kinnaur and Lahaul & Spiti districts. In the rest of the state, the programmes will be called Hindu Sammelans. These are programmes of the society.” He said that a final decision on renaming the sammelans would be taken after consultations with the RSS's national-level office-bearers. Buddhists constitute around 2 per cent of Himachal Pradesh’s total population of approximately 71 lakh. Notably, 95 per cent of this Buddhist population resides in the tribal districts of Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur. There is also a significant Buddhist presence in areas of Dharamshala and McLeodganj in Kangra district, which is home to the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and the Tibetan government-in-exile. Apart from the sammelans, the RSS has also lined up five other major programmes under its Jagran Parv beginning October 2. According to Pradeep Joshi, Akhil Bhartiya Sahsampark Pramukh (All-India vice-president of the RSS’s communication wing), these initiatives will focus on kutumb sampark (family counselling), samrasta (social harmony), paryavaran (environment), swayambhoo (self-realisation), and samvaidhanik kartavya (our constitutional duties). “These programmes will not be confined to a particular community, that is, Hindus. The organisation has decided to reach out to people of all faiths and sects,” Joshi told reporters in Shimla. He added that the RSS intended to involve the younger generation, especially Gen Z, in these outreach efforts to ensure greater participation in social and cultural initiatives. The programmes mark 100 years since the formation of the RSS in 1925 on the occasion of Vijayadashami. The state unit has already begun preparations to hold sammelans at mandal and basti levels across Himachal Pradesh in the coming months. The RSS has announced that it will hold a series of Hindu Sammelans across the country after Vijayadashami, October 2.
