Visakhapatnam, August 19, 2026

 What are farmers saying in the villages? What concerns are emerging among workers and students? How is India's young generation changing? And which social and economic questions require greater coordination among organisations working on the ground?

These questions form the larger backdrop as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's three-day Akhil Bharatiya Samanvay Baithak began at Vijnana Vihara School in Gudilova near Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale and senior Sangh functionaries are participating along with national-level office-bearers of 32 Sangh-inspired organisations. The meeting will continue until August 21.

The gathering is an important annual coordination exercise within the wider Sangh ecosystem. Organisations working among farmers, labourers, students, tribals, women and different sections of society bring their experiences to a common table.

Among those participating are representatives of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Bharatiya Janata Party, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Rashtra Sevika Samiti and Saksham.

According to information, the farmers' organisation encounters questions of agriculture, prices and rural livelihoods. A labour organisation deals with employment and workers. Student organisations see changing aspirations on campuses. Organisations working among tribal communities or in education and social service encounter another set of concerns. Each organisation is expected to present its activities, observations and suggestions. Discussions will also focus on strengthening coordination and cooperation, besides public welfare and policy-related issues, according to the RSS.

The exercise should not be confused with the RSS's Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, its highest decision-making body. The Samanvay Baithak serves a different purpose: it provides an annual platform for organisations inspired by the Sangh to compare experiences and develop better coordination while continuing to work independently in their respective fields.

This year's agenda also offers clues to the Sangh's immediate concerns. RSS Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar said ahead of the meeting that demographic imbalance and drug abuse among youth would be among the subjects discussed. According to agency reports, concerns surrounding younger generations are also expected to figure in the deliberations.

A century-old organisation now has to communicate with generations growing up in a very different India. Their world is shaped by smartphones, social media, artificial intelligence, rapidly changing employment patterns and greater global exposure.

The challenge is therefore not simply bringing young people into an organisation. It is understanding their aspirations while connecting them with family, society, civic responsibility and a larger national outlook.

The Sangh's broader Panch Parivartan framework provides another background to these deliberations. The five areas have centred on social harmony, family values, environmental consciousness, selfhood or Swa, and civic duties. These themes were reviewed during the RSS's centenary-year programmes and continue to form part of its social outreach.

The Samanvay Baithak draws its importance from the wide fields represented around the table. The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh brings experiences from the farm sector, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh from workers and industry, while ABVP reflects issues concerning students and youth. Other organisations work among tribals, women and different sections of society, bringing their own ground-level experiences and concerns into the larger discussion.

These organisations operate independently in their respective fields and may not always approach every issue in the same way. The annual meeting gives them a common platform to share ground experiences, discuss socio-economic and national issues and identify areas where greater coordination is required.

This becomes more significant as the RSS moves into its second century. India today is changing rapidly. Technology is reshaping everyday life, aspirations among young people are rising and questions around employment, family, social harmony, demography and the environment are becoming increasingly important.

The three days in Visakhapatnam are therefore about much more than organisational coordination. They offer the Sangh and its inspired organisations an opportunity to read these changes from the ground, discuss issues affecting different sections of society and shape priorities for the year ahead. For a century-old organisation entering its next phase, the larger task is clear- remain rooted in its core philosophy while responding to the needs of a changing India.