PM unveils Rs 100 coin at RSS event, Bharat Mata features on currency for 1st time

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday released a special postage stamp and a commemorative coin, marking the centenary celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and featuring the first-ever depiction of Bharat Mata on Indian currency.
The Rs 100 coin features the national emblem on one side, while the other side depicts a majestic image of Bharat Mata in Varada Mudra, a gesture of offering with the palm outward, accompanied by a lion. Swayam sevaks are shown bowing before her in devotion and dedication.
The coin also bears the RSS motto “Rashtriya Swaha, Idam Rashtraya, Idam Na Mama,” which translates to “Everything is dedicated to the nation, Everything is the nation’s, Nothing is mine.”
“For the first time in the history of independent India, the image of Bharat Mata has been featured on Indian currency, which marks a moment of great pride and historical significance,” PM Modi said at the launch.
The postal stamp released alongside the coin highlights RSS workers’ participation in the 1963 Republic Day Parade, underlining the organisation’s historic contributions. PM Modi described the moment as a proud tribute to Bharat Mata and the RSS’s century-long journey of service and dedication.
The centenary celebrations were organised by the Ministry of Culture and attended by RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Founded in 1925 in Nagpur by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, the RSS was established as a volunteer-based organisation with the aim of fostering cultural awareness, discipline, service, and social responsibility among citizens. PM Modi himself was an RSS ‘pracharak’ and made a mark as an organiser before being shifted to the BJP, which draws its ideological inspiration from the Hindutva organisation.
The celebrations and releases also aim to highlight the RSS’s social service work and involvement in nation-building, from blood donation drives and food distribution to relief efforts during disasters such as the Kedarnath and Bihar floods and the Covid-19 pandemic.