LUCKNOW, May 14 -- Far from being limited to festivities, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) year-long centenary celebrations, to be launched on Vijayadashami 2025, will be a large-scale outreach initiative aimed at expanding the organisation's presence and increasing volunteer participation across the country. Spanned across 12 months, the mega events will end on Vijayadashami 2026, and will not be just confined to celebrations. The RSS has planned to reach out to maximum households and engage as many people as possible in Uttar Pradesh. For organisational purposes, the RSS has divided Uttar Pradesh into two kshetras (regions) -- Purab (eastern) and Paschim (western). The eastern region comprises four prants -- Kashi, Goraksh, Awadh, and Kanpur. The western region comprises Meerut, Brij, and Uttarakhand. Despite Uttarakhand being a different state, it is part of the RSS's Paschim Kshetra of Uttar Pradesh. The centenary celebrations will start with 'Utsav 2025' on Vijayadashami in October this year. In this event, RSS volunteers will organise rallies and public meetings in full dress code across Uttar Pradesh and the rest of the country with special focus on the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In the series of events, the second event will be 'Grah Sampark' in which RSS volunteers will try to reach out to households with folders, pamphlets and books carrying literature on RSS. The third and the most important event will be 'Hindu Sammelan'. "The Hindu Sammelan will be organised in every mandal, basti and block to ensure participation of maximum people. We will try to ensure participation of people from all strata of the society," said a senior RSS office-bearer from Uttar Pradesh. The fourth event is 'Prabudh Nagrik Gosthi' in which seminars will be organised with participation from prominent people from all sections of the society. In the series of events, the fifth will be 'Samajik Sadhav' meetings in which people from all caste groups will be invited. "These meetings will focus on creating harmony in the society and eradicating caste differences," said an RSS leader. The sixth event will be youth-centric, 'Yuva Sammelan'. "The RSS will try to connect with youth through Yuva Sammelan. It is an effort to apprise youth about the working of the organisation and what it is doing for the society," a leader said. The year-long celebrations will conclude with special shakhas across the state and the rest of the country. These will be other than routine shakhas that the RSS organises on a daily basis. The RSS is planning to increase the number of shakhas to one lakh and rope in 2,500 new pracharaks across the country. According to an RSS office-bearer, the organisation's focus is on creating a sense of unity and harmony among Hindus, making them aware of their duties towards the nation. It may be pointed out that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Sarkaryawah (general secretary) Dattatreya Hosabale are touring Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country as part of preparations for the centenary-year celebrations....