The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) holds its marquee event, Vijayadashmi, every year in its Nagpur headquarters with much fanfare. The organisation also calls different celebrities and achievers from diverse fields as chief guest at the function.
In a major departure last year, it had invited mountaineer Santosh Yadav to the annual event, the first woman to be called as chief guest to this all-important celebration of the Sangh, which had made headlines.
This year, popular Bollywood singer and composer Shankar Mahadevan has been made the chief guest of the event. The Vijayadashami event is seen as a platform for socio-political signalling by the organisation. In 2017, it had a Dalit chief guest.
Mahadevan’s choice appears to be guided by the RSS’ objective of reaching out to consumers of popular culture and hence, increase its penetration and acceptability in the masses.
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