Kalli Purie urges RSS to boost women’s role in leadership at book launch

MUMBAI: When Kalli Purie took the mic, she made sure the Sangh heard more than just polite applause. Speaking in the presence of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the launch of Tan Samarpit, Man Samarpit, a biography of swayamsevak Ramesh Prakash India Today group vice chairperson called for women to find stronger footing in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s leadership structures.

Purie praised the Sangh’s famed simplicity, discipline, and its unusual ability for century-long planning, referencing its centennial blueprint and Panch Parivartan vision. But she also pushed the envelope, noting that corruption must not be normalised as “a way of life”. She spotlighted India Today’s experiment with Gross Domestic Behaviour (GDB), a metric designed to gauge civic discipline, inclusivity, gender balance, and attitudes towards corruption.

Her candour drew a direct response from the Sarsanghchalak himself. Bhagwat stressed that true social transformation cannot come from ideas alone: “Knowledge is not enough. Change comes only when it reflects in the swayamsevak’s life through discipline, example, and practice.”

On the question of women’s representation, he pointed to the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the women’s wing founded in 1936, which he described as running in parallel to the RSS. “Wherever there are swayamsevaks, women are alongside,” he said, adding that in many regions, women are invited into core meetings, their proposals are included, and their role in decision-making is expanding. “Fifty per cent of society cannot be kept outside,” he underlined, while noting that processes differ across states, which he framed as a mark of the Sangh’s evolving nature.

Yet Bhagwat also added a note of balance: “Rashtra seva should never come at the cost of family duties. The two are complementary, not contradictory.”

Between Purie’s call for parity and Bhagwat’s emphasis on gradual adaptation, the evening turned into more than just a book launch, it became a mirror to the Sangh’s ongoing conversation about gender, governance, and the path to social change.