New Delhi, April 5 (PTI): RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today said India can set an example for the world by creating a society "which takes everyone along".
Bhagwat was speaking at a convention organised by Rashtriya Seva Bharati, a Sangh organisation involved in community service.
In the audience were industrialists Azim Premji of Wipro, G.M. Rao of the GMR group and Zee's Subhash Chandra.
"Considering as our own the whole world, which is disillusioned at the failure of experiments of 2,000 years, giving it a new symbol, new peaceful, brotherly society and which takes everyone along... creator of a such a world, Bharat... such a society we have to create. So, we have to expand our work in scope and make it more organised," the RSS chief said.
The speech comes in the backdrop of a series of attacks in recent months on places of worship of minorities and institutes run by them.
Bhagwat's speech also comes barely three months after US President Barack Obama said the "acts of religious intolerance in India in the past few years would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi".
The RSS chief told the gathering, which included representatives of nearly 800 organisations involved in social work supported by the Seva Bharati, that all the needy should be served "without any distinction, motives or selfish reasons".
The Sangh chief has in the past questioned the motives of Christian missionaries involved in social work and said that Mother Teresa's service to the poor was motivated by her "zeal to convert".
"Whether somebody is a Sangh swayamsevak (whole-timer) or not, Hindu or not, this has nothing to with service. This, we in the Sangh believe. We believe that anyone who is needy needs service... there is no differentiation in serving. There is also no desire of getting something in return. If we serve like that, the number of our shakhas would increase but that should not be the motive behind service."
Bhagwat said the RSS had created the Rashtriya Sewa Bharati as a separate body so that it could support social work, adding, that such service should be done as a duty and not for fame or any other lure.
When Premji spoke, the Wipro chief said he was invited by Bhagwat but made it clear his presence at the event should not be seen as an endorsement of the Sangh.
Merely speaking at a forum does not in any way mean that one endorses all or any of the views that are expressed in that forum, the industrialist said, addressing a session where Bhagwat was present.
Premji said he respected organisations in the field of social work and that was the reason for his presence.
The Wipro founder also emphasised the need for quality education, especially at the primary and secondary levels, adding the government should play a key role.
Premji advocated greater public investment and said the private sector could not substitute the role of the government in primary education.
To become a truly great country, work is needed on several fronts like elimination of corruption, safety for women, children and disadvantaged sections and support for the poverty stricken, Premji added.
GMR's Rao described NGOs and philanthropists as "social engines for the country". He highlighted the social-service activities of his group and lauded the Rashtriya Sewa Bharati.
