NEW DELHI: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday said the freedom secured through decades of sacrifice carried with it a responsibility to preserve it and ensure that its gains make India prosperous, secure and capable of contributing to the world, as the organisation marked the 80th Independence Day at events in Nagpur.Hoisting the Tricolour at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, Bhagwat said Independence Day was both an occasion for celebration and remembrance.“Independence Day is a subject of pride and celebration for all of us. If we count from 1857, then continuously for over 90 years, our ancestors attained freedom through various kinds of sacrifices and self-offerings,” he said.Bhagwat said pride in the freedom struggle must be accompanied by a sense of responsibility. “This freedom was attained by us through so much sacrifice and effort; it is our responsibility to preserve that freedom,” he said.Invoking V D Savarkar, Bhagwat said everything “excellent, noble, elevated and supremely sweet” that freedom could deliver must reach the country, and ensuring that was also a national duty. He said India must become prosperous and secure and fulfil its responsibility towards humanity.In Delhi, RSS joint general secretary Krishna Gopal hoisted the national flag at an Independence Day function organised by Shri Keshav Smarak Samiti at Keshav Kunj. The ceremony began with Vande Mataram and the national anthem was sung after the flag hoisting, while a CISF contingent presented a salute to the Tricolour.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
Krishna Gopal said India’s freedom came after a prolonged struggle and recalled figures from different periods, including Prithviraj Chauhan, Maharana Pratap, Shivaji Maharaj, Lokmanya Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bipin Chandra Pal, K B Hedgewar, Bhagat Singh, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Chandrashekhar Azad.Remembering those who sacrificed their lives or spent years in prison, he said the freedom struggle had continued in different forms across the country.He said India had made rapid progress since Independence and was advancing as a major nation. “The entire nation should unite and move forward, presenting a beautiful ideal before the world,” he said.