Kovind to attend RSS Vijayadashami event; a look at past chief guests

Former President of India Ram Nath Kovind will attend the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Vijayadashami event as chief guest in Nagpur on October 2. The Sangh is currently holding its centenary celebrations across the country and as a part of those celebrations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended an event in New Delhi on Wednesday.

 

However, after a row erupted over her possible attendance at an RSS Vijayadashami event in Amravati on October 5, it remains uncertain whether Kamala Gavai, mother of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai and founder of Shri Dadasaheb Charitable Trust, will take part in the event.

 

On Wednesday, Rajendra Gavai, who is also the CJI’s brother, told news agency PTI, "Someone’s ideology doesn’t change by attending an event. My mother will decide if she wishes to go or not."

 

However, Rajendra Gavai had earlier said that his mother had already accepted the invitation. Speaking to ANI on Monday, he confirmed, “My mother has been invited for the RSS event being held on October 5 in Amravati, and my mother has accepted the invitation. This event, being held on the 5th, is not the main event. The main Vijayadashami event is being organised on October 2 in Nagpur... Personal relations and political relations are different. We do not leave our ideology behind in any case. Our ideology is strong..."

 

The comments initially suggested that Kamala Gavai would be present, but later reports pointed otherwise.   

 

Invite and reported decline

 

The RSS had invited Kamala Gavai to be the chief guest at its Amravati Vijayadashami celebration scheduled for October 5. This function is part of the Sangh’s centenary celebrations, taking place three days after the main event in Nagpur.

 

However, news outlet The Wire reported that Kamala Gavai issued a handwritten letter rejecting the invite. In that note, she described herself as a “staunch Ambedkarite” and clarified that she would not participate in the function.

 

RSS Vijayadashami events and chief guests over the years

 

Every year since 2014, the RSS has invited eminent personalities as chief guests for its annual Vijayadashami event in Nagpur. This year, on October 2, former President Ram Nath Kovind will be the chief guest at the centenary celebration in Nagpur.

 

List of chief guests at Vijayadashami event (2014-2025):

 

• 2014: Late Dada JP Vaswani, spiritual leader and head of Sadhu Vaswani Mission (He did not attend the event due to health issues)

• 2015: Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat, ex-DRDO chairman and NITI Aayog member

• 2016: Satyaprakash Rai, retired officer of the Indian Economic Service

• 2017: Baba Nirmal Das, Dalit religious leader

• 2018: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi

• 2019: Shiv Nadar, industrialist and founder of HCL

• 2020: No chief guest (Covid-19 restrictions)

• 2021: No chief guest (Covid-19 restrictions)

• 2022: Santosh Yadav, mountaineer (first woman chief guest)

• 2023: Shankar Mahadevan, singer and composer

• 2024: Dr K Radhakrishnan, former ISRO chairperson

• 2025: Ram Nath Kovind, former President of India

 

PM Modi joins RSS centenary celebrations in New Delhi

 

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the centenary celebrations of the RSS in New Delhi as the chief guest. To mark the occasion, he released a specially designed postage stamp and a commemorative ₹100 coin.

 

The Prime Minister praised the Sangh’s contribution over a century, saying: “The glorious 100-year journey of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is an extraordinary example of sacrifice, selfless service, nation-building, and discipline. I am feeling immensely proud to be a part of the RSS centenary celebration.”

 

Speaking about the commemorative coin, he explained that it carries the National Emblem on one side, while the reverse features an image of Bharat Mata, seated on a lion in ‘varad mudra,’ with swayamsevaks bowing before her. Modi stressed that this is the first time an image of Bharat Mata has appeared on India’s currency.

 

On Sunday, during his Mann Ki Baat address, the Prime Minister had hailed the RSS’s century-long journey as “unprecedented and inspiring”, highlighting how the Sangh was founded in 1925 in Nagpur by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar to instil discipline, cultural pride, service, and social responsibility among citizens.   

  Prominent attendees at RSS events

Several prominent Indian personalities have attended Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) events over the past decade. Notable examples include former President Pranab Mukherjee, who addressed an RSS event in 2018 at Nagpur

 

• Pranab Mukherjee: The former President of India attended the Sangh Shiksha Varg in Nagpur in 2018 as the chief guest, which was a major outreach move by the RSS.

 

• Ratan Tata: Late Ratan Tata, an industrialist and Padma Vibhushan awardee, attended an RSS event in Mumbai in August 2018.

 

• Jyotiraditya Scindia: Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia was seen at the RSS centenary event in August in New Delhi

 

• Kangana Ranaut and Ramdev: Bollywood actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut and Ramdev attended the centenary function in August in New Delhi

 

• Events between 2015 and 2025, including major all-India meets and centenary celebrations, saw regular attendance by senior BJP functionaries and cabinet ministers such as Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari, JP Nadda, Venkaiah Naidu, and Manohar Parrikar.