top of page

By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 4:59:11 pm

Bhagwat to outline roadmap for next century

Mumbai: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat will address thousands of volunteers and key political observers at Reshimbagh grounds in Nagpur tomorrow at 7.40 am on the occasion of Vijayadashami, formally concluding the organisation’s centenary-year celebrations. He is expected to deliver an ideological and operational blueprint intended to recalibrate Hindu society, counter ongoing opposition mobilisation across India, and outline internal organisational changes...

Bhagwat to outline roadmap for next century

Mumbai: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat will address thousands of volunteers and key political observers at Reshimbagh grounds in Nagpur tomorrow at 7.40 am on the occasion of Vijayadashami, formally concluding the organisation’s centenary-year celebrations. He is expected to deliver an ideological and operational blueprint intended to recalibrate Hindu society, counter ongoing opposition mobilisation across India, and outline internal organisational changes through a wide-ranging policy address. The annual Vijayadashami address, historically the most definitive forum for the RSS chief to articulate the organisation’s stance on domestic policy, cultural objectives and global affairs, carries heightened significance this year. Marking the completion of 100 years since Dr K.B. Hedgewar founded the organisation on Vijayadashami in 1925, Bhagwat’s address is designed to chart the strategic framework for the RSS as it enters its second century. Over the past 12 months, Bhagwat has personally anchored a series of outreach programmes across four Indian metropolitan hubs and two global nerve centres in the United States and Europe, signalling an appetite to project ideological clarity and broaden the organisation’s institutional footprint beyond traditional shakhas. The address comes against the backdrop of sustained street agitations orchestrated by the Congress party and newly formed groups such as the CJP in the national capital and several states. These demonstrations, centred on unemployment, social justice rhetoric and institutional accountability, have explicitly targeted India’s youth demographic — a constituency that has historically formed the primary recruitment pipeline and ideological backbone of the Sangh. Political observers believe Bhagwat will offer an unyielding response to these attempts to disrupt governance and erode the social coalition, reflecting an unmistakable determination within the Sangh Parivar leadership to resist political attrition and mount an active counter-narrative. The diplomatic and constitutional significance of the event is underscored by the deliberate selection of guests. Former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Israel’s Consul General in Mumbai, Yaniv Revach, are attending as special invitees. Revach’s presence hints at possible remarks addressing global geopolitical realignment, the rise of civilisational conflicts, cross-border terrorism and national security challenges. Dhankhar’s attendance provides a platform to reaffirm constitutional patriotism and legislative stability at a juncture marked by sharp parliamentary confrontation. Equally consequential is the invitation extended to Sanjay Gupta, Editor-in-Chief of Dainik Jagran. For an organisation that has historically maintained a measured distance from mainstream media machinery, engaging with the leadership of India’s largest Hindi daily indicates an institutional shift towards proactive public communication. The gesture suggests that the Sangh recognises that narrative warfare in its next century requires strategic engagement with popular media platforms rather than a traditional reliance on insular organisational word of mouth. Beyond external ideological positions, the Nagpur gathering is expected to provide indicators of the structural transitions under way within the RSS. The organisation has been quietly restructuring its administrative echelons, revamping functional wings and adjusting internal deployment models in recent months. With additional leadership realignments slated across key tiers in the near future, Bhagwat’s speech is expected to define the organisational ethos for these generational handovers, emphasising flexibility in outreach while preserving core organisational discipline. As dawn breaks over Reshimbagh, the address will serve both as a balance sheet of a century-old journey and as a declaration of intent for an increasingly combative political era.

FDA’s notice to SRK, Devgn, Tiger

Quaid Najmi
Aug 16
2 min read

Mumbai: Rattling Bollywood, the Maharashtra Food & Drugs Authority (FDA) has shot off notices to mega-star Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff for allegedly promoting a banned product through surrogate advertising in the name Vimal Elaichi.


The notice has been issued by the FDA Assistant Commissioner (Food) N. T. Mujawar for Greate Mumbai Division and sought the stars’ written response along with supporting documents, either in person or through an authorised representative, within 15 days.


The FDA has listed eight points for prompt compliance by the actor, including one asking them to “immediately discontinue your participation in and endorsement of VIMAL Pan Masala/Elaichi advertisement,” to yank off the advertisement and promotional content from their social media handles, and not provide “any further cooperation or assistance in the broadcasting, publication, dissemination or promotion of the said advertisement in any form.”


The FDA warned: “The Authority is further empowered to prohibit the endorser of a false or misleading advertisement from making endorsement of any product or service for a period which may extend to one year, and for every subsequent contravention, up to three years.”


Additionally, Khan, Devgn and Shroff have been directed to furnish copies and details of their agreements or endorsement contracts, campaigns brief, product information, payment or endorsement arrangement, and details of the concerned advertising agency and brand owner, along with details of the due diligence undertaken by them and their agency prior to participating in the advertisement.


The FDA has demanded particulars of all television channels, digital and social media platforms and other media on which the advertisement has been broadcast, published or disseminated with their participation, together with the period of such broadcast or dissemination, and for disclosure of any material connection between themselves and the advertiser or brand owner as contemplated under the CCPA Guidelines, 2022.


“Furnish documentary evidence establishing whether VIMAL Elaichi is an independent product actually available for sale in the market, or whether the same constitutes a surrogate or brand extension communication intended to promote VIMAL Pan Masala/tobacco related products,” says the notice.


The star trio has been asked to furnish their written explanations as to “why legal action should not be initiated” against them for the prima facie violations of various provisions of the laws, as such advertisements may amount to “indirect or surrogate” promotion of prohibited pan masala and tobacco-related products.


War on tobacco
The FDA action came after the Maharashtra Food Safety Commissioner under the Food Safety and Standards Act July 13 order imposing a one-year ban on certain specified products containing tobacco, nicotine and areca-nut.

Action will be taken against the manufacture, storage, transport, distribution and sale of prohibited pan masala products in Maharashtra, and copies of the star notices have been sent to the FSSAI and Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).

Comments

bottom of page