Vembu joins RSS march, urges youth to take active role in nation-building

Zoho founder and chief scientist Sridhar Vembu participated in a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) route march in Tamil Nadu's Tenkasi district on Sunday (November 1). Vembu was among several prominent participants in the Patha Sanchalan in Sankarankovil, which was organised across more than 100 locations in Tamil Nadu as part of the organisation's Vijayadashami celebrations.The November 1 event marked the second and final phase of the exercise, following an earlier round of marches in parts of the state on October 25.Photographs of Vembu participating in the Sankarankovil march were shared on X by Ananthan Ayyasamy, BJP's Tenkasi district president and entrepreneur.In a post accompanying the photographs, Ayyasamy said he was delighted to participate in the march alongside Vembu and BJP district and town office-bearers. A former engineering director at Intel in the US, Ayyasamy considers Vembu his mentor. Ayyasamy told India Today Digital on Monday that Vembu had planned to attend the RSS march in Tenkasi town, but he was travelling at the time. "After he returned home, he joined the march at Sankarankovil," said Ayyasamy.According to Ayyasamy, Vembu is actively involved in RSS activities in the Tenkasi region and regularly attends local RSS meetings, known as baithaks. He also sponsors panpattu vaguppu (cultural classes) and weekend sessions on Bharatiya culture and traditions. Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu poses for a photograph with RSS members during the Patha Sanchalan march in Sankarankovil, Tenkasi district. (Image: X) VEMBU ATTENDS RSS BAITHAKS, SPONSORS CULTURAL CLASSESAyyasamy had written on X on Sunday, "Thrilled to have participated in the RSS Path Sanchalan march held today in Sankarankovil, Tenkasi district, alongside Padma Shri Thiru Sridhar Vembu."Describing the event, Ayyasamy said the march showcased the values of "patriotism, discipline, unity, and selfless service".Vembu's presence at the march is noteworthy in the context of his earlier remarks about his schooling and exposure to competing ideological influences.Beyond local activities, Vembu has attended RSS training camps and met senior Sangh leaders, including RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale. Ayyasamy also said Vembu was closely associated with the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an RSS-affiliated organisation, and supported the ideas of Swadeshi, Atmanirbhar Bharat and the Centre's Make in India initiative, according to the RSS mouthpiece, The Organiser.VEMBU SPOKE ABOUT SELF-RELIANCE: AYYASAMYSridhar Vembu also addressed participants at an event related to the RSS march, and spoke about self-reliance, nationalism and the RSS's contribution to nation-building, Ayyasamy told India Today Digital. "The RSS does not discriminate against people or give anyone special status on the basis of caste or wealth," Vembu said, according to Ayyasamy.During his address, Vembu also recalled the RSS's relief work during the December 2023 floods in Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts of Tamil Nadu.Ayyasamy said Vembu cited the participation of hundreds of volunteers working through organisations such as Seva Bharathi, including in areas where most residents were not Hindu. The Zoho founder "urged young people to take an active role in nation-building".Vembu's participation in the Patha Sanchalan in Sankarankovil comes months after he spoke about his own ideological journey as a teenager, recalling how a Marxist teacher briefly turned him into an atheist and a Marxist.I BECAME A MARXIST AT 14, SAID VEMBUIn July, Vembu spoke about his experience as a teenager, saying a Marxist teacher had briefly influenced him to embrace Marxism and atheism.His remarks came in response to a discussion initiated by author Shefali Vaidya on X about why children from families associated with the BJP and the RSS sometimes develop ideological positions different from those of their parents.Recounting his school years, Vembu said he studied from Classes 6 to 9 at a free government-aided school established by a person affiliated with the DMK. He subsequently attended another free school for Classes 10 to 12, which had been funded by an RSS-affiliated individual and had an RSS member as its trustee.However, Vembu said neither institution had exposed him to any substantial political messaging from the organisations associated with their founders.It was a teacher at the second school who, said Vembu, who introduced him to Marxist thought."In my 10th standard in that school, I had a Marxist Tamil teacher. His entire class was about the coming Marxist revolution... For a period, I became a Marxist and atheist thanks to him. I was 14," he wrote on X.Vembu recalled questioning his teacher about how a government-controlled economy would function after a Marxist revolution. He said he was unconvinced by the explanation that people would develop a socialist consciousness and that this would eliminate corruption and improve governance.He added that while Marxism eventually lost its appeal, he remained an atheist for several years.VEMBU'S REMARKS ON RSS-RUN SCHOOLVembu also pointed to what he saw as a contradiction in his educational experience. Despite studying at an institution funded by an RSS-affiliated person and having an RSS member as its trustee, he said he had learnt little about the organisation during his time there.His criticism was directed at what he described as the influence of Marxist teachers on impressionable students from conservative families."Remember that the school had an RSS man as trustee and as a student I had not heard one word about RSS, yet the Marxist teacher was free to brainwash kids like me," he wrote.For Vembu, the Sankarankovil appearance brings renewed attention to his earlier comments about the RSS, his schooling and the ideological influences that shaped his adolescence.- Ends(Written by Anand Singh)