| Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh | |
|---|---|
 Thesaffron flag (Bhagwa Dhwaj), an official symbol of the RSS[1] | |
| Also known as | RSS |
| Founder | K. B. Hedgewar |
| Leaders | Mohan Bhagwat (Sarsanghchalak)[a] Dattatreya Hosabale (Sarkaryavah)[b] |
| Foundation | 27 September 1925 (100 years ago) (1925-09-27) |
| Country |  India |
| Motives | Establishment ofHindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation) |
| Headquarters | Dr. Hedgewar Bhawan, Sangh Building Road,Nagpur,Maharashtra – 440 032, India |
| Ideology | Hindutva |
| Status | Active |
| Size | |
| Part of | Sangh Parivar |
| Website | rss |
TheRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,[c]lit. 'National Volunteer Union' or'National Volunteer Corps')[4] is an Indianright-wing[5][6][7]Hindutva[8][9] volunteer[10]paramilitary organisation.[15] It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of Hindutva organisations called theSangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family"), which has developed a presence in all facets of Indian society and includes theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling political party underNarendra Modi, theprime minister of India.[16]Mohan Bhagwat currently serves as theSarsanghchalak (lit. 'Chief') of the RSS, withDattatreya Hosabale serving as theSarkaryavah (lit. 'General Secretary').[17]
Founded on 27 September 1925,[18] the initial impetus of the organisation was to provide character training and instil "Hindu discipline" in order to unite the Hindu community and establish aHindu Rashtra (Hindu nation).[19][20] The organisation aims to spread the ideology ofHindutva to "strengthen" theHindu community and promotes an ideal of upholding anIndian culture and its "civilisational values".[21][22] On the other hand, the RSS has been described as being "founded on the premise of Hindusupremacy".[23] The RSS has been accused of an intolerance of minorities,particularly Muslims.[24]
During the colonial period, the RSS collaborated with theBritish Raj and played no role in theIndian independence movement.[11][25] After independence, it grew into an influential Hindu nationalist umbrella organisation, spawning several affiliated organisations that established numerous schools, charities, and clubs to spread its ideological beliefs.[20] It was banned in 1947 for four days,[20] and then thrice by the post-independence Indian government, first in 1948 whenNathuram Godse,[26] a member of the RSS,[27] assassinatedMahatma Gandhi;[20][28][29] then duringthe Emergency (1975–1977); and for a third time after thedemolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. In the 21st century, it is the world's largestfar-right organisation by membership.[30] The RSS has been criticised as anextremist organisation,[16][30] and there is a scholarly consensus that it spreads hatred and promotes violence.[31][13][32]
The RSS was founded in 1925 byK. B. Hedgewar, a doctor in the city ofNagpur,British India.[31]
Hedgewar was a political protege ofB. S. Moonje, aTilakiteCongressman andHindu Mahasabha politician from Nagpur. Moonje had sent Hedgewar to Calcutta to pursue his medical studies and to learn combat techniques from the secret revolutionary societies of theBengalis. Hedgewar became a member of theAnushilan Samiti, an anti-British revolutionary group, getting into its inner circle. The secretive methods of these societies were eventually used by him in organising the RSS.[33][34][35] After readingVinayak Damodar Savarkar's ideological pamphlet,Essentials of Hindutva, published in Nagpur in 1923, and meeting Savarkar in theRatnagiri prison in 1925, Hedgewar was extremely influenced by him, and he founded the RSS with the objective of "strengthening" Hindu society.[33][34][35][36]
Hedgewar believed that a handful of British colonialists were able to rule over the vastIndian subcontinent because Hindus were disunited, lacked valour (pararkram), and lacked a civic character. He recruited energetic Hindu youth with revolutionary fervour, gave them a uniform of a black forage cap, khaki shirt (later white shirt) and khaki shorts—emulating the uniform of theIndian Imperial Police—and taught them paramilitary techniques withlathi (bamboo staff), sword, javelin, and dagger. Hindu ceremonies and rituals played a large role in the organisation, not so much for religious observance, but to provide awareness of India's supposed "glorious past" and to bind the members in a religious communion. Hedgewar also held weekly sessions of what he calledbaudhik (ideological education), consisting of simple questions to the novices concerning the Hindu nation and its history and heroes, especially warrior kingShivaji. The saffron flag of Shivaji, theBhagwa Dhwaj, was used as the emblem for the new organisation.[33][34][35]
Two years into the life of the organisation, in 1927, Hedgewar organised an "Officers' Training Camp" with the objective of forming a corps of key workers, whom he calledpracharaks (full-time functionaries or "propagators"). He asked the volunteers to first become "sadhus" (ascetics), renouncing professional and family lives, and dedicating their lives to the cause of the RSS. Hedgewar is believed to have embraced the doctrine of renunciation after it had been reinterpreted by nationalists such asAurobindo. The tradition of renunciation gave the RSS the character of a 'Hindu sect'.[37] Developing a network ofshakhas (branches) was the main preoccupation for Hedgewar throughout his career as the RSS chief. The firstpracharaks were responsible for establishing as manyshakhas as possible, first in Nagpur, then across the Maharashtra region, and eventually throughout the rest of India.P. B. Dani was sent to establish ashakha at theBenaras Hindu University; other universities were similarly targeted to recruit new followers among the student population. Threepracharaks went to Punjab: Appaji Joshi toSialkot, Moreshwar Munje to theDAV College inRawalpindi and Raja Bhau Paturkar to theDAV College inLahore. In 1940, Madhavrao Muley was appointed as theprant pracharak (regional head) for Punjab in Lahore.[38]
The RSS was founded to propagate the ideology ofHindutva and to provide "new physical strength" to the majority community and was "directed againstMuslims".[21][39]
After Tilak's demise in 1920, like other followers of Tilak in Nagpur, Hedgewar was opposed to some of the programmes adopted by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi's stance on theKhilafat Movement was a cause for concern to Hedgewar, and so was the fact that 'cow protection' was not on theCongress agenda. This led Hedgewar, along with other Tilakities, to part ways with Gandhi. In 1921, Hedgewar was arrested on charges of sedition over his speeches atKatol and Bharatwada. Ultimately, he was sentenced to a year in prison.[40]
He was released in July 1922. Hedgewar was distressed at the lack of organisation among volunteer organisations of the Congress. Subsequently, he felt the need to create an independent organisation that was based on the country's traditions and history. He held meetings with prominent political figures in Nagpur between 1922 and 1924. He visited Gandhi's ashram in nearby Wardha in 1924 and discussed a number of things. After this meeting, he left Wardha to plan to unite the often antagonistic Hindu groups into a common nationalist movement.[40][41]
The 1920s witnessed a significant deterioration in the relations between Hindus and Muslims. The Muslim masses were mobilised by theKhilafat movement, opposing the dismemberment of theOttoman Empire by theAllies and some demanded the reinstatement of the Caliphate in Turkey.[42]Mahatma Gandhi made an alliance with the movement for conducting his ownnon-co-operation movement. Gandhi aimed to createHindu–Muslim unity in forming the alliance. However, the alliance saw a "common enemy", not a "common enmity".[43] When the government refused to entertain demands of the Khilafat Movement, some Muslims turned their anger towards Hindus.[44] The first major incident of religious violence was reportedly theMoplah rebellion in August 1921. It was widely narrated that the rebellion ended in large-scale violence against Hindu officials inMalabar. A cycle of inter-communal violence throughout India followed for several years.[45] In 1923, there were riots in Nagpur, termed "Muslim riots" by Hedgewar, where he thought Hindus were "totally disorganised and panicky". These incidents made a major impression on Hedgewar and convinced him of the need to "organise" Hindu society.[36][46]
After acquiring about 100swayamsevaks (volunteers) in the RSS by 1927, Hedgewar took the issue to the Muslim domain. He led the Hindu religious procession forGanesha, beating the drums in defiance of the usual practice not to pass in front of a mosque with music.[47] On the day ofLakshmi Puja on 4 September, Muslims are said to have retaliated. When the Hindu procession reached a mosque in the Mahal area of Nagpur, Muslims blocked it. Later in the afternoon, they attacked the Hindu residences in the Mahal area. It is said that the RSS cadres were prepared for the attack and "beat the Muslim back".Riots continued for 3 days and the army had to be called in to quell the violence. Muslim households had to leave Nagpur en masse for their safety, due to widespread violence against them.[48][49][36][50] Tapan Basu et al. note the accounts of "Muslim aggressiveness" and the "Hindu self-defence" in the RSS descriptions of the incident.[49]
French political scientistChristophe Jaffrelot points out the theme of "stigmatisation and emulation" in the ideology of the RSS along with other Hindu nationalist movements such as theArya Samaj and the Hindu Mahasabha. Muslims, Christians and the British were thought of as "foreign bodies" implanted in the Hindu nation, who were able to exploit the disunity and absence of valour among the Hindus in order to subdue them. The solution lay in emulating the characteristics of these "Threatening Others" that were perceived to give them strength, such as paramilitary organisation, emphasis on unity, and nationalism. The Hindu nationalists combined these emulatory aspects with a selective borrowing of traditions from the Hindu past to achieve a synthesis that was uniquely Indian and Hindu.[51]
TheHindu Mahasabha, which was initially a special interest group within theIndian National Congress and later an independent party, was an important influence on the RSS, even though it is rarely acknowledged.[citation needed] In 1923, prominent Hindu leaders likeMadan Mohan Malaviya met together on this platform and voiced their concerns on the 'division in the Hindu community'. In his presidential speech to Mahasabha, Malaviya stated: "Friendship could exist between equals. If the Hindus made themselves strong and the rowdy section among the Mahomedans were convinced they could not safely rob and dishonour Hindus, unity would be established on a stable basis." He wanted the activists 'to educate all boys and girls, establishakharas (gymnasiums), establish a volunteer corps to persuade people to comply with decisions of the Hindu Mahasabha, to accept untouchables as Hindus and grant them the right to use wells, enter temples, get an education.' Later, Hindu Mahasabha leaderV. D. Savarkar's 'Hindutva' ideology also had a profound impact on Hedgewar's thinking about the 'Hindu nation'.[40]
The initial meeting for the formation of the Sangh on theVijaya Dashami day of 1925 was held between Hedgewar and four Hindu Mahasabha leaders:B. S. Moonje,Ganesh Savarkar,L. V. Paranjpe and B. B. Tholkar. The RSS took part as a volunteer force in organising the Hindu Mahasabha annual meeting in Akola in 1931. Moonje remained a patron of the RSS throughout his life. Both he and Ganesh Savarkar worked to spread the RSSshakhas in Maharashtra, Panjab, Delhi, and the princely states by initiating contacts with local leaders. Savarkar merged his own youth organisationTarun Hindu Sabha with the RSS and helped its expansion. V. D. Savarkar, after his release in 1937, joined them in spreading the RSS and giving speeches in its support. Officials in the Home Department called the RSS the "volunteer organisation of the Hindu Mahasabha."[52][53]
Since its formation in 1925, the RSS opposed theindependence movement against British rule in India.[25] Portraying itself as a social movement, Hedgewar also kept the organisation from having any direct affiliation with political organisations then fighting British rule.[54] The RSS rejected Gandhi's willingness to co-operate with Muslims.[55][56]
In accordance with Hedgewar's tradition of keeping the RSS away from the Indian Independence movement, any political activity that could be construed as being anti-British was carefully avoided. According to the RSS biographer C. P. Bhishikar, Hedgewar talked only about Hindu organisations and avoided any direct comment on the colonial government.[57] The "Independence Day" announced by the Indian National Congress for 26 January 1930 was celebrated by the RSS that year but was subsequently avoided. TheTricolor of the Indian national movement was shunned.[58][59][60][61] Hedgewar personally participated in theSalt March launched by Gandhi in April 1930, but he did not get the RSS involved in the movement. He sent information everywhere that the RSS would not participate in the March. However, those wishing to participate individually were not prohibited.[62][63] In 1934, the Congress passed a resolution prohibiting its members from joining the RSS, the Hindu Mahasabha, or the Muslim League.[58]
M. S. Golwalkar, who became the leader of the RSS in 1940, continued and further strengthened the isolation from the independence movement. In his view, the RSS had pledged to achieve freedom through "defending religion and culture", not by fighting the British.[64][65][66] Golwalkar lamented the anti-British nationalism, calling it a "reactionary view" that, he claimed, had disastrous effects upon the entire course of the freedom struggle.[67][68] It is believed that Golwalkar did not want to give the British an excuse to ban the RSS. He complied with all the strictures imposed by the colonial government duringWorld War II, even announcing the termination of the RSS military department.[69][70] The British government believed that the RSS was not supporting any civil disobedience against them, and their other political activities could thus be overlooked. The British Home Department took note of the fact that the speakers at RSS meetings urged their members to keep aloof from the anti-British movements of theIndian National Congress, which was duly followed.[71] The Home Department did not see the RSS as a problem for law and order in British India.[69][70] The Bombay government appreciated the RSS by noting that the Sangh had scrupulously kept itself within the law and refrained from taking part in the disturbances (Quit India Movement) that broke out in August 1942.[72][73][74] It also reported that the RSS had not, in any way, infringed upon government orders and had always shown a willingness to comply with the law. The Bombay Government report further noted that in December 1940, orders had been issued to the provincial RSS leaders to desist from any activities that the British Government considered objectionable, and the RSS, in turn, had assured British authorities that it had "no intentions of offending against the orders of the Government".[75][76]
Golwalkar later openly admitted the fact that the RSS did not participate in theQuit India Movement. He agreed that such a stance led to a perception of the RSS as an inactive organisation, whose statements had no substance in reality.[64][77] Similarly, the RSS neither supported nor joined in theRoyal Indian Navy mutiny against the British in 1946.[56]
Overall, the RSS opposed joining the independence movement and had no role in it. Instead, the organisation adopted a policy of collaboration with the British colonial regime.[11][25]
ThePartition of India affected millions ofSikhs,Hindus, andMuslims attempting to escape the violence and carnage that followed.[78] During the partition, the RSS helped the Hindu refugees fleeing West Punjab; its activists also played an active role in the communal violence during Hindu-Muslim riots in North India. To the RSS activists, the partition was a result of mistaken soft line towards Muslims. The RSS blamed Gandhi,Jawaharlal Nehru, andVallabhbhai Patel for their "naivety which resulted in the partition".[79][80][81]
The first ban on the RSS was imposed inPunjab Province (British India) on 24 January 1947 byMalik Khizar Hayat Tiwana, the premier of the rulingUnionist Party, a party that represented the interests of the landed gentry and landlords of Punjab, which included Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. Along with the RSS, theMuslim National Guard was also banned.[82][83] The ban was lifted on 28 January 1947.[82]
The RSS initially did not recognise theTricolor as the NationalFlag of India.Organiser, a magazine which serves as the mouthpiece of the RSS, demanded in an editorial titled "National Flag", that theBhagwa Dhwaj be adopted as the national flag of India instead.[84] After the Tricolor was adopted as the national flag by theConstituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947, theOrganiser viciously attacked the Tricolor and the Constituent Assembly's decision. In an article titled "Mystery behind the Bhagwa Dhwaj", theOrganiser stated:[85][86]
The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands the Tricolor but it [will] never be respected and owned by Hindus. The word three is in itself an evil, and a flag having three colours will certainly produce a very bad psychological effect and is injurious to a country.
In an essay titled "Drifting and Drafting" published inBunch of Thoughts, Golwalkar lamented the choice of the Tricolor as the national flag and compared it to an intellectual vacuum. In his words:[87][88][89][90]
Our leaders have set up a new flag for the country. Why did they do so? It just is a case of drifting and imitating ... Ours is an ancient and great nation with a glorious past. Then, had we no flag of our own? Had we no national emblem at all these thousands of years? Undoubtedly we had. Then why this utter void, this utter vacuum in our minds.
The RSS hoisted the Indian national flag at its Nagpur headquarters only twice, on 14 August 1947 and on 26 January 1950, but stopped doing so after that.[91] This issue has always been a source of controversy. In 2001, three activists ofRashtrapremi Yuwa Dal – president Baba Mendhe, and members Ramesh Kalambe and Dilip Chattani, along with others – allegedly entered the RSS headquarters in Reshimbagh, Nagpur, on 26 January, theRepublic Day of India, and forcibly hoisted the national flag there amid patriotic slogans. They contended that the RSS had never before or after independence, ever hoisted the Tricolor in their premises. Offences were registered by theBombay Police against the trio, who were subsequently jailed. They were discharged by the court, after serving eleven years in prison, in 2013.[92][93] The arrests and the flag-hoisting issue stoked a controversy, which was raised in theParliament as well. Hoisting of the flag was very restrictive until the formation of theflag code of India (2002).[94][95][96] Subsequently, in 2002, the national flag was raised in the RSS headquarters on Republic Day for the first time in 52 years.[91]
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh initially did not recognise theConstitution of India, strongly criticising it because the Indian Constitution made no mention of "Manu's laws" – from the ancient Hindu textManusmriti.[60] When the Constituent Assembly finalised the constitution, the RSS mouthpiece, theOrganiser, complained in an editorial dated 30 November 1949:[60]
But in our constitution, there is no mention of that unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat... To this day his laws as enunciated in theManusmriti excite the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits that means nothing.
On 6 February 1950 theOrganiser published another article, titled "Manu Rules our Hearts", written by a retired High Court Judge named Sankar Subba Aiyar, that reaffirmed their support for theManusmriti as the final lawgiving authority for Hindus, rather than the Constitution of India. It stated:[97]
Even though Dr. Ambedkar is reported to have recently stated inBombay that the days of Manu have ended it is nevertheless a fact that the daily lives of Hindus are even at present-day affected by the principles and injunctions contained in theManusmrithi and otherSmritis. Even an unorthodox Hindu feels himself bound at least in some matters by the rules contained in theSmrithis and he feels powerless to give up altogether his adherence to them.
The RSS' opposition to, and vitriolic attacks against, the Constitution of India continued post-independence. In 1966, Golwalkar, in his book titledBunch of Thoughts, asserted:[60][88]
Our Constitution too is just a cumbersome and heterogeneous piecing together of various articles from various Constitutions of Western countries. It has absolutely nothing, which can be called our own. Is there a single word of reference in its guiding principles as to what our national mission is and what our keynote in life is? No!
India's first prime ministerJawaharlal Nehru had been highly vigilant against the RSS. When Golwalkar wrote to Nehru asking for the lifting of the ban on the RSS after Gandhi's assassination, Nehru replied that the government had proof that RSS activities were "anti-national" by virtue of being "communalist". In his letter to the heads of provincial governments in December 1947, Nehru wrote that "we have a great deal of evidence to show that RSS is an organisation which is in the nature of a private army, and which is definitely proceeding on the strictest Nazi lines, even following the techniques of the organisation".[98]
In January 1948,Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a member of the RSS,Nathuram Godse.[99][27] Following the assassination, many prominent leaders of the RSS were arrested, and the RSS as an organisation was banned on 4 February 1948. During the court proceedings in relation to the assassination, Godse began claiming that he had left the organisation in 1946.[29] A Commission of Inquiry into conspiracy to the murder of Gandhi was set, and its report was published by India's Ministry of Home Affairs in the year 1970. Accordingly, theJustice Kapur Commission[100] noted that the "RSS as such were not responsible for the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, meaning thereby that one could not name the organisation as such as being responsible for that most diabolical crime, the murder of the apostle of peace. It has not been proved that they (the accused) were members of the RSS."[100]: 165 However, the then Indian Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister,Vallabhbhai Patel had remarked that the "RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhi's death".[101] The association with the incident also made the RSS "very unpopular and considerably dented its polarizing appeal".[102]
RSS leaders were acquitted of the conspiracy charge by theSupreme Court of India. Following his release in August 1948, Golwalkar wrote to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to lift the ban on the RSS. After Nehru replied that the matter was the responsibility of the Home Minister, Golwalkar consulted Patel regarding the same. Patel then demanded an absolute pre-condition that the RSS adopt a formal written constitution[103] and make it public, where Patel expected the RSS to pledge its loyalty to theConstitution of India, accept the Tricolor as theNational Flag of India, define the power of the head of the organisation, make the organisation democratic by holding internal elections, authorisation of their parents before enrolling the pre-adolescents into the movement, and to renounce violence and secrecy.[104][105][106]: 42 Golwalkar launched a huge agitation against this demand during which he was imprisoned again. Later, a constitution was drafted for the RSS, which however, initially did not meet any of Patel's demands. After a failed attempt to agitate again, eventually the RSS's constitution was amended according to Patel's wishes with the exception of the procedure for selecting the head of the organisation and the enrolment of pre-adolescents. However, the organisation's internal democracy, which was written into its constitution, remained a 'dead letter'.[107]
Patel said in early January 1948 that the RSS activists were "patriots who love their country". He asked the Congressmen to "win over" the RSS by love, instead of trying to "crush" them. He also appealed to the RSS to join the Congress instead of opposing it. Jaffrelot says that this attitude of Patel can be partly explained by the assistance the RSS gave the Indian administration in maintaining public order in September 1947, and that his expression of 'qualified sympathy' towards the RSS reflected the long-standing inclination of several Hindu traditionalists in Congress. However, after Gandhi's assassination on 30 January 1948, Patel began to view the activities of the RSS as a danger to public security.[108][109] In his reply letter to Golwalkar on 11 September 1948 regarding the lifting of ban on the RSS, Patel stated that though the RSS did service to Hindu society by helping and protecting the Hindus when in need during partition violence, they also began attacking Muslims with revenge and went against "innocent men, women and children". He said that the speeches of the RSS were "full of communal poison", and as a result of that 'poison', he remarked, India had to lose Gandhi, noting that the RSS men had celebrated Gandhi's death. Patel was also apprehensive of the secrecy in the working manner of the RSS and complained that all of its provincial heads wereMarathaBrahmins. He criticised the RSS for having its own army inside India, which he said, cannot be permitted as "a potential danger tothe State". He further remarked: "The members of RSS claimed to be the defenders of Hinduism. But they must understand that Hinduism would not be saved by rowdyism".[101]
On 11 July 1949, thegovernment of India lifted the ban on the RSS by issuing acommunique, stating that the decision to lift the ban had been taken in view of Golwalkar's undertaking to make the group's loyalty towards the constitution of India and acceptance and respect towards the national flag of India more explicit in the Constitution of the RSS.[31][106]
After India had achieved independence, the RSS supported and participated in movements to decoloniseDadra and Nagar Haveli, which at that time was ruled by Portugal. In early 1954 RSS members Raja Wakankar and Nana Kajrekar visited the area several times to study the topography and get acquainted with locals who wanted the area to change from being aPortuguese colony to being anIndian territory. In April 1954, the RSS formed a coalition with the National Movement Liberation Organisation (NMLO) and theAzad Gomantak Dal (AGD) for the annexation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli into India.[110] On the night of 21 July, the United Front of Goans, a group working independently of the coalition, captured the Portuguese police station at Dadra and declared Dadra independent. Subsequently, on 28 July, volunteer teams from the RSS and AGD captured the territories of Naroli and Phiparia and ultimately the capital ofSilvassa. The Portuguese forces that had escaped and moved towards Nagar Haveli, were assaulted at Khandvel and forced to retreat until they surrendered to the Indian border police at Udava on 11 August 1954. A native administration was set up with Appasaheb Karmalkar of the NMLO as the Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli on 11 August 1954.[110]
The capture of Dadra and Nagar Haveli gave a boost to the movement against Portuguese colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent.[110] In 1955, RSS leaders demanded the end of Portuguese rule in Goa and its integration into India. When Nehru refused to provide an armed intervention, RSS leaderJagannathrao Joshi led an agitation inGoa. He was imprisoned with his followers by the Portuguese police.[111] The nonviolent protests continued but met with repression. On 15 August 1955, the Portuguese police opened fire on the protestors, killing thirty or so unarmed civilians.[111]
In 1975, Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi government beganemergency rule in India.[112] The Emergency was imposed aftersocialist leaderJayaprakash Narayan led people tocivil disobedience against corruption and economic turmoil, while demanding systemic change. Narayan had also asked the army and the police to disobey the government.[113][114] A number of opposition leaders including Narayan were arrested.[115] The RSS, which was seen as being close to opposition leaders, and with its large organisational base, was seen to have the capability of organising protests against the government and was thus also banned.[116]
Madhukar Dattatraya Deoras, the then chief of the RSS, wrote letters to Indira Gandhi, promising to extend the organisation's co-operation with her government and with the emergency rule, in return for the lifting of the ban, asserting that the RSS had no connection with themovement in Bihar andthat in Gujarat. He tried to persuadeVinoba Bhave to mediate relations between the RSS and the government and also sought the offices ofSanjay Gandhi, Indira Gandhi's son.[117][118] Provincial RSS organiserLala Hansraj Gupta had also written a letter to Indira Gandhi and promised to begin "a new era of co-operation" between theSangh Parivar and theCongress in exchange for the lifting of the RSS ban.[119] A number of volunteers of the RSS have claimed that they carried out activities underground during the Emergency. The RSS has since claimed that the movement against the Emergency was supposedly dominated by tens of thousands of RSS cadres.[120][121][119]
The Emergency was lifted in 1977, and with it, the ban on the RSS was also lifted. The Emergency is said to have legitimised the role of the RSS in Indian politics, which had not been possible ever since the stain the organisation had acquired following Mahatma Gandhi's assassination in 1948, thereby 'sowing the seeds' for the Hindutva politics of the following decades.[122]
The RSS does not have any formal membership. According to the official website, men and boys can become members by joining the nearestShakha (branch), which is the basic unit. Women are not allowed to join the organisation. Although the RSS does not keep membership records, it is estimated to have around 4 million members as of 2024.[2]
There are the following terms to describe RSS leaders and members:
The termshakha is Hindi for "branch". Most of the organisational work of the RSS is done through the co-ordination of the variousshakhas. Theseshakhas are run for one hour in public places. The number ofshakhas increased from 8500 in 1975 to 11,000 in 1977, before growing to 20,000 by 1982.[117] In 2004, more than 51,000shakhas were run throughout India. The number of shakas had fallen by over 10,000 after the fall of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led governmentin 2004. However, in 2014, the number had again increased to about 40,000 after thereturn of BJP to power in the same year.[136][137][138] This number stood at 51,335 in August 2015.[139]
Theshakhas conduct various activities for its volunteers such as physical fitness through yoga, exercises, and games, and activities that encourage civic awareness, social service, community living, and patriotism.[140] Volunteers are trained in first aid and in rescue and rehabilitation operations, and are encouraged to become involved in community development.[140][141]
Generally,shakhas involve the gathering of male RSS members to train in martial arts, exercise in other ways, and "recite nationalist stories" to outsiders.[142]
Most of theshakhas are located in the Hindi-speaking regions. As of 2016 Delhi had 1,898shakhas.[143] There are more than 8,000shakhas in UP, 6,845shakhas in Kerala,[144] 4,000 in Maharashtra, and around 1,000 in Gujarat.[145] In northeast India, there are more than 1,000shakhas, including 903 in Assam, 107 in Manipur, 36 in Arunachal, and 4 in Nagaland.[146][147] In Punjab, there are more than 900shakhas as of 2016.[148] As of late 2015 there were a total of 1,421shakhas in Bihar,[149] 4,870 in Rajasthan,[150] 1,252 in Uttarakhand,[151] 2,060 in Tamil Nadu,[152] and 1,492 in West Bengal.[153] There are close to 500shakhas in Jammu and Kashmir,[154] 130 in Tripura, and 46 in Meghalaya.[155]
As per the RSS Annual Report of 2019, there were a total of 84,877shakhas, of which 59,266 are being held daily; 17,229 are weeklyshakhas.[156][157]
In October 2016, the RSS replaced the uniform of the khaki shorts its cadre had worn for 91 years with dark brown trousers.[158][159] These brown trousers are worn with a white button-up shirt and blackside cap.
The songNamastē Sadāvatsale Matrubhoomē is the anthem or prayer of the RSS.[160]
The RSS is the founding and leading organisation of theSangh Parivar, a collective ofHindutva organisations.[161] In most cases,pracharaks (full-time volunteers of the RSS) were deputed to start up and manage these organisations in their initial years.
Some member organisations of the Sangh Parivar include:[162]
Although the RSS generally endorses the BJP, it has, at times, refused to do so, due to difference of opinion with the party.[164][165]
Jaffrelot argues that although the RSS, with its paramilitary style of functioning and its emphasis on discipline, has sometimes been seen as "an Indian version offascism",[166] the "RSS's ideology treats society as an organism with a secular spirit, which is implanted not so much in the race as in a socio-cultural system and which will be regenerated over the course of time by patient work at the grassroots".[167] He notes that Golwalkar's ideology shared, withNazism, an emphasis on ethnichomogeneity[168] but that the "ideology of the RSS did not develop a theory of the state and the race, a crucial element in European nationalisms: Nazism and Fascism"[166] and that the RSS leaders were interested in Hindu cultural homogeneity as opposed to racial sameness.[169]
When it came to non-Hindu religions, the view of Golwalkar (who once supported Hitler's creation of a supreme race by suppression of minorities)[170] on minorities was that of extreme intolerance. In a 1998 magazine article, some RSS and BJP members were said to have distanced themselves from Golwalkar's views, though not entirely:[171]
The non-Hindu people of Hindustan must either adopt Hindu culture and languages, must learn and respect and hold in reverence the Hindu religion, must entertain no idea but of those of glorification of the Hindu race and culture ... in a word they must cease to be foreigners; or may stay in the country, wholly subordinated to the Hindu nation, claiming nothing, deserving no privileges, far less any preferential treatment—not even citizens' rights.
Golwalkar also explains that the RSS does not intend to compete in electioneering politics or share power. The movement considers Hindus as inclusive ofSikhs,Jains,Buddhists,tribals,untouchables,Veerashaivism,Arya Samaj,Ramakrishna Mission, and other groups as a community, a view similar to the inclusive referencing of the term Hindu in the Indian Constitution Article 25 (2)(b).[173][174][175]
In spite of the organisation's hostile rhetoric against their religions, the RSS also has Muslim and Christian members. According to the party's official documents, Indian Muslims and Christians are descendants of Hindus that happened to be converted to foreign faiths, so as long as they agree with its beliefs they can also be members. They are still required to attend theshakhas, and recite Hindu hymns, even by breakingRamadhan fasts when possible.[133][176] TheMuslim Rashtriya Manch is considered as a wing of the RSS for Muslim members.[177]
In January 2020, the RSS along with other right-wing political parties and religious organisations such as BJP,Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and HJV held protests, which allegedly demanded that the statue ofJesus be not installed at Kapala Hills ofKanakapura. The 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land[178] was originally donated by the government to theChristian community afterD. K. Shivakumar, the MLA ofIndian National Congress submitted a request to the state government for land donation to the community.[179]
Historically, the RSS has expressed a negative view of homosexuality,[180] though it has moderated this position in recent years, expressing support for the decriminalisation of homosexuality but opposition to therecognition of same-sex unions in India.[181] In 2016, RSS memberRakesh Sinha claimed that efforts to decriminalise homosexuality in India were the product of a "European mindset".[182] In 2018, the RSS expressed support forNavtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, which decriminalised homosexual activity in India, while simultaneously condemning efforts to legalise gay marriage and referring to homosexuality as "unnatural".[183]
Similarly, in a book published in 2019, RSS chiefMohan Bhagwat stated that homosexuality should remain a "private matter", while also arguing that "gay marriages should not be institutionalised for it will institutionalise homosexuality".[184] In January 2023, Mohan Bhagwat again stated thatLGBTQ individuals "should have their own private and social space as they are humans and have the right to live as others". However, some critics have alleged these remarks are "insincere".[182][185]
In March 2023, RSS general secretaryDattatreya Hosabale reiterated the organisation's opposition to the legalisation of gay marriage, stating that in Hinduism "marriage is [a] 'Sanskar' [Hindu sacrament]" that necessarily involves two people of opposite gender.[186][187] These comments were made in support of an affidavit theBJP-ruledGovernment of India filed with theSupreme Court of India which argued against the legalisation of same-sex marriage. When the Supreme Court handed down a verdict against legalisation later that year, the RSS "welcomed" the ruling, and additionally expressed their opposition to giving same-sex couples the right to adopt children.[188]
RSS leaders admiredAdolf Hitler andBenito Mussolini.[20][189] Golwalkar took inspiration from Adolf Hitler's ideology of racial purity.[190] However, the RSS's stance changed during the war; the organisation firmly supported the British war effort against Hitler and theAxis Powers.[72] The RSS leaders were supportive of the formation of Jewish State of Israel.[191] Golwalkar admired the Jews for maintaining their "religion, culture and language".[192] Savarkar drew a comparison between Jews and Hindus, writing "no people in the world can more justly claim to be recognized as a racial unit than the Hindus and perhaps the Jews",[193] supporting Jaffrelot's parallels betweenZionism andHindutva.[194]
The RSS volunteers participated in theBhoodan movement organised by Gandhian leaderVinobha Bhave, who had met RSS leader Golwalkar inMeerut in November 1951. Golwalkar had been inspired by the movement that encouraged land reform through voluntary means. He pledged the support of the RSS for this movement.[195] Consequently, many RSS volunteers, led byNanaji Deshmukh, participated in the movement.[10] But Golwalkar was also critical of the Bhoodan movement on other occasions for being reactionary and for working "merely with a view to counteracting Communism". He believed that the movement should inculcate a faith in the masses that would make them rise above the base appeal of Communism.[196]
The RSS has advocated the training of Dalits and other backward classes as temple high priests (a position traditionally reserved forCasteBrahmins and denied to lower castes). They argue that the social divisiveness of the caste system is responsible for the lack of adherence toHindu values and traditions, and that reaching out to the lower castes in this manner will be a remedy to the problem.[197] The RSS has also condemned upper-caste Hindus for preventing Dalits from worshipping at temples, saying that "even God will desert the temple in which Dalits cannot enter".[198] However,Bhanwar Meghwanshi, a Dalit former RSS member, criticised the RSS' attitude towards lower castes. He wrote of his disillusionment, which began with an incident where members of the organisation refused to eat the food prepared by him, instead throwing it into the streets.[199][200]
RSS leaders have argued against reservations for lower castes,[201][202] with theOrganiser calling the implementation of theMandal Commission recommendations a reactivation of a "caste war" in 1990.[194][203] Mohan Bhagwat has expressed support for reservations on some occasions and called for debate on the issue on others.[204]
Jaffrelot says that "there is insufficient data available to carry out a statistical analysis of social origins of the early RSS leaders", but goes on to conclude that, based on some known profiles, most of the RSS founders and its leading organisers, with a few exceptions, were Maharashtrian Brahmins from the middle or lower class[205] and argues that the pervasiveness of the Brahminical ethic in the organisation was probably the main reason why it failed to attract support from the low castes. He argues that the "RSS resorted to instrumentalist techniques of ethnoreligious mobilisation—in which itsBrahminism was diluted—to overcome this handicap".[206] However, Anderson and Damle (1987) find that members of all castes have been welcomed into the organisation and are treated as equals.[10]
The RSS was instrumental in relief efforts after the1971 Odisha cyclone,1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone[207] and in the 1984Bhopal disaster.[208][209] It assisted in relief efforts during the2001 Gujarat earthquake, and helped rebuild villages.[207][210] Approximately 35,000 RSS members in uniform were engaged in the relief efforts,[211] and many of their critics acknowledged their role.[212] An RSS-affiliated NGO,Seva Bharati, conducted relief operations in the aftermath of the2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Activities included building shelters for the victims and providing food, clothes, and medical necessities.[213] The RSS assisted relief efforts during the 2004Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and the subsequent tsunami.[214] Seva Bharati also adopted 57 children (38 Muslims and 19 Hindus) from militancy affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir to provide them education at least up to Higher Secondary level.[215][216] They also took care of victims of theKargil War of 1999.[217]
During the1984 anti-Sikh riots, as per the formerNational Minorities Commission chairmanTarlochan Singh and noted journalist & authorKhushwant Singh, RSS activists also protected and helped members of theSikh community.[218][219][220][221]
In 2006, the RSS participated in relief efforts to provide basic necessities such as food, milk, and potable water to the people ofSurat, Gujarat, who were affected by floods in the region.[citation needed] The RSS volunteers carried out relief and rehabilitation work after the floods affected NorthKarnataka and some districts of the state ofAndhra Pradesh.[222] In 2013, following theUttarakhand floods, RSS volunteers were involved in flood relief work through its offices set up at affected areas.[223][224]
Backing the2020 coronavirus lockdown in India, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh provided essential services including masks, soaps and food to many all over India during the lockdown.[225][226][227] In 2020, a Muslim woman fromJammu and Kashmir donated all her savings meant for herHajj pilgrimage, worth₹5lakh, to the RSS-affiliated 'Seva Bharati' after being "impressed with the welfare work" done by the outfit amid the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.[228] The number of Muslim students in the schools run by Vidya Bharati, the educational wing of the RSS, has witnessed an increase of approximately 30% during the three years 2017–2020 inUttar Pradesh.[229]
In 1992, the RSS established theKreeda Bharati sports organisation inPune.[230][231] Kreeda Bharati promotesindigenous sports, traditional rural games, as well as "lost and ancient games", alongside other established sports in India.[232][233]
Two prominent publications of the RSS arePanchajanya (Hindi) andOrganiser (English). The first magazines published were Rashtra Dharma (Hindi) and Organiser (English). Later in 1948 new publications were launched,Panchajanya from Lucknow,Akashwani from Jalandhar andChetana from Varanasi. Until 1977 the publications were published by Rashtra Dharma Prakashan the responsibility of which was later taken over by Bharat Prakashan Ltd. The governing board of the publications has been appointing editors for the publications. Prominent leaders like Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee have been the editors of these publications.[234][235] In 2013, the number of subscriptions toPanchajanya was around 60,000 and around 15,000 for Organiser. Subscriptions have increased substantially after 2014 election of Narendra Modi as the Prime minister. As of 2017[update],Panchajanya had more than 1 lakh subscribers and Organiser had 25,000.[236]
Vishwa Samvad Kendra, literallyWorld Communication Center, is its official communications wing.[237][238][239][240][241] Its head office is inBangalore.[242][243] It was started by theVishwa Hindu Parishad, with initial centers inAyodhya,Lucknow andDelhi, for propagating its views on theAyodhya dispute,[237] and expanded its activities after the 1992demolition of the Babri Masjid.[238]
The RSS has been criticised as anextremist organisation and as a paramilitary group.[15][31][244] It has also been criticised when its members have participated in anti-Muslim violence;[32] it has since formed in 1984, a militant wing called theBajrang Dal.[20][245] Along withShiv Sena, the RSS has been involved in riots, often inciting and organising violence against Christians and Muslims.[246][8] Thus, there is a common consensus among the academia and intellectuals that the RSS spreads hatred.[247][248][249][250][251][252]
The RSS has been criticised for promoting and planning terrorist attacks, and numerous such attacks have been linked to RSS members. In November 2003, two bombs planted by RSS members killed one person and injured thirty-four others at amosque inParbhani,Maharashtra. Another such bombing killed sixty-eight people, mostly Pakistanis, on a train running between India and Pakistan. On 29 September 2008, a bomb planted by terrorists linked to the RSS exploded inMalegaon,Maharashtra, in an area where Muslims were breaking theirRamadan fasts, killing six and injuring 101. It is believed that between 2003 and 2008, nine terror attacks linked to the RSS or other Sanghi Parivar organisations killed almost 150 people, mostly Muslims; many of these attacks happened near or inside Muslim places of worship or onIslamic holidays.[253]
In September 2022, formerpracharak (full-time worker) in the RSS Yashwant Shinde revealed in an interview and a sworn affidavit he was trained to carry out covert operations inPakistan as well asfalse flag terrorist attacks in India that could then be used to scapegoat Muslims. He alleged that he and his fellow trainees have bombed mosques inJalna,Purna, and Parbhani in Maharashtra. Shinde has implicated key members of the RSS and the larger Sanghi Pariwar in directly planning or having knowledge of these attacks, including a former RSS national executive member and a national secretary of theBJP.[254] Shinde asserted that the goal of many of these operations was to promoteIslamophobia among Hindus by strengthening the stereotype of violent Muslim terrorists and thereby gaining support for the BJP and Hindu nationalist agendas. A statement by India'sNational Investigation Agency corroborated this claim, stating that the bombings "were caused by the conspirators with an intention to terrorize people...to create communal rift" between Hindus and Muslims.[253][254]
The RSS has been censured for its involvement in communal riots.
After giving careful and serious consideration to all the materials that are on record, the Commission is of the view that the RSS with its extensive organisation in Jamshedpur and which had close links with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh had a positive hand in creating a climate which was most propitious for the outbreak of communal disturbances.
In the first instance, the speech of Shri Deoras (delivered just five days before the Ram Navami festival) tended to encourage the Hindu extremists to be unyielding in their demands regarding Road No. 14. Secondly, his speech amounted to communal propaganda. Thirdly, the shakhas and the camps that were held during the divisional conference presented a militant atmosphere to the Hindu public. In the circumstances, the commission cannot but hold the RSS responsible for creating a climate for the disturbances that took place on 11 April 1979.
Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organisation for human rights based in New York, has claimed that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council, VHP), the Bajrang Dal, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and the BJP have been party to theGujarat violence that erupted after theGodhra train burning.[256] Local VHP, BJP, and BD leaders have been named in many police reports filed by eyewitnesses.[257] The RSS and VHP claimed that they made appeals to put an end to the violence and that they asked their supporters and volunteer staff to prevent any activity that might disrupt peace.[258][259]
Christian groups accuse the RSS alongside its close affiliates, theVishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal (BD), and the Hindu Jagaran Sammukhya (HJS), of participation in the 2008religious violence in Odisha.[260]
According to the 2009 report of theLiberhan Commission, the Sangh Parivar organised thedestruction of the Babri Mosque.[32][261] The Commission said: "The blame or the credit for the entiretemple construction movement at Ayodhya must necessarily be attributed to Sangh Parivar."[262] It also noted that the Sangh Parivar is an "extensive and widespread organic body" that encompasses organisations that address and bring together just about every type of social, professional, and other demographic groupings of individuals. The RSS has denied responsibility and questioned the objectivity of the report. Former RSS chiefK. S. Sudarshan alleged that the mosque had been demolished by government men as opposed to theKarsevak volunteers. On the other hand, a government of Indiawhite paper dismissed the idea that the demolition was pre-organised.[263]The RSS was banned after the1992 Babri Masjid demolition, when the government of the time considered it a threat to the state. The ban was subsequently lifted in 1993 when no evidence of any unlawful activity was found by the tribunal constituted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.[264]
Several Sangh Parivar politicians such asBalraj Madhok in the 1960s and 1970s to theBJP leaders likeL. K. Advani have complained about the RSS's interference in party politics. Though some former Hindu nationalists believed that Sangh should take part in politics, they failed to draw the RSS, which was intended to be a purely cultural movement, into the political arena until the 1950s. Savarkar tried to convince Hedgewar and later Golwalkar, to tie up with theHindu Mahasabha, but failed to do so.[265]
Under pressure from otherswayamsevaks, Golwalkar gradually changed his mind after independence under unusual circumstances during the ban on the RSS in 1948 after the assassination of Gandhi. After the first wave of arrests of RSS activists at that time, some of its members who had gone underground recommended that their movement be involved in politics, seeing that no political force was present to advocate the cause of the RSS in parliament or anywhere else. One such member who significantly suggested this cause wasK. R. Malkani, who wrote in 1949:[265]
Sangh must take part in politics not only to protect itself against the greedy design of politicians, but to stop the un-Bharatiya and anti-Bharatiya policies of the Government and to advance and expedite the cause of Bharatiya through state machinery side by side with official effort in the same direction. ... Sangh must continue as it is, anashram for the national cultural education of the entire citizenry, but it must develop a political wing for the more effective and early achievement of its ideals.
Golwalkar approved of Malkani's and others' views regarding the formation of a new party in 1950. Jaffrelot says that the death of Sardar Patel influenced this change since Golwalkar opined that Patel could have transformed the Congress party by emphasising its affinities with Hindu nationalism, while after Patel, Nehru became strong enough to impose his 'anti-communal' line within his party. Accordingly, Golwalkar metSyama Prasad Mukherjee and agreed for endorsing seniorswayamsevaks, who includedDeendayal Upadhyaya, Balraj Madhok andAtal Bihari Vajpayee, to theBharatiya Jana Sangh, a newly formed political party by Mukherjee. These men, who took their orders from the RSS, captured power in the party after Mukherjee's death.[265]
Balasaheb Deoras, who succeeded Golwalkar as the chief of the RSS, got very much involved in politics. In 1965, when he was the general secretary of the RSS, he addressed the annual meeting of Jana Sangh, which is seen as an "unprecedented move" by an RSS dignitary that reflected his strong interest in politics and his will to make the movement play a larger part in the public sphere. Jaffrelot says that he exemplified the specific kind of swayamsevaks known as 'activists', giving expression to his leanings towards political activism by having the RSS support theJP Movement.[265] The importance that the RSS began to give to the electoral politics is demonstrated when itsshakhas were made constituency-based in the early 1970s, from which the RSSshakhas began to involve directly in elections, not only of legislatures, but also of trade unions, student and cultural organisations.[117]
As soon as the RSS men took over the Jana Sangh party, the Hindu traditionalists who previously joined the party because of S. P. Mukherjee were sidelined.[citation needed] The organisation of the party was restructured and all its organisational secretaries, who were the pillars of the party, came from the RSS, both at the district and state level. The party also took the vision of the RSS in its mission, where its ultimate objective, in the long run, was the reform of society, but not the conquest of power, since the 'state' was not viewed as a prominent institution. Hence the Jana Sangh initially remained reluctant to join any alliance that was not fully in harmony with its ideology. In 1962, Deendayal Upadhyaya, who was the party's chief, explained this approach by saying that "coalitions were bound to degenerate into a struggle for power by opportunist elements coming together in the interest of expediency". He wanted to build the party as an alternative party to the Congress and saw the elections as an "opportunity to educate the people on political issues and to challenge the right of the Congress to be in power". Jaffrelot says that this indifferent approach of party politics was in accordance with its lack of interest in the 'state' and the wish to make it weaker, or more decentralised.[265] After India's defeat in the1962 Sino–Indian war, the RSS and other right-wing in India were strengthened since the leftist and centrist opinions, sometimes even Nehru himself, could then be blamed for being 'soft' towards China. The RSS and Jana Sangh also took complete advantage of the1965 war with Pakistan to "deepen suspicion about Muslims", and also en-cashed the growing unpopularity of Congress, particularly in theHindi-belt, where a left-wing alternative was weak or non-existent.[117] The major themes on the party's agenda during this period were banningcow slaughter, abolishing thespecial status given to Jammu and Kashmir, and legislating auniform civil code. Explaining the Jana Sangh's failure to become a major political force despite claiming to represent the national interests of the Hindus, scholar Bruce Desmond Graham states that the party's close initial ties with the Hindi-belt and its preoccupation with the issues of North India such as promotion of Hindi, energetic resistance to Pakistan etc., had become a serious disadvantage to the party in the long run. He also adds that its interpretation of Hinduism was "restrictive and exclusive", arguing that "its doctrines were inspired by an activist version of Hindu nationalism and, indirectly, by the values ofBrahmanism rather than the devotional and quietist values of popular Hinduism."[266] Desmond says that, if the Jana Sangh had carefully moderated its Hindu nationalism, it could have been able to well-exploit any strong increase in support for the traditional and nationalist Hindu opinion, and hence to compete on equal terms with the Congress in the northern states. He also remarks that if it had adopted a less harsh attitude towards Pakistan and Muslims, "it would have been much more acceptable to Hindu traditionalists in the central and southern states, where partition had left fewer emotional scars."[267]
The Jana Sangh started making alliances by entering the anti-Congress coalitions since the 1960s. It became part of the 1971 Grand Alliance and finally merged itself with theJanata Party in 1977.[265] The success of Janata Party in1977 elections made the RSS members central ministers for the first time (Vajpayee, Advani andBrij Lal Verma),[117] and provided the RSS with an opportunity to avail the state and its instruments to further its ends, through the resources of various state governments as well as the central government.[268] However, this merge, which was seen as a dilution of its original doctrine, was viewed by the ex-Jana Sanghis as submersion of their initial identity. Meanwhile, the other components of the Janata Party denounced the allegiance the ex-Jana Sanghis continued to pay to the RSS. This led to a 'dual membership' controversy, regarding the links the former Jana Sangh members were retaining with the RSS, and it led to the split of Janata Party in 1979.[265]
The former Jana Sangh elements formed a new party,Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in 1980. However, BJP originated more as a successor to the Janata Party and did not return to the beginning stages of the Hindu nationalist identity and Jana Sangh doctrines. The RSS resented this dilution of ideology – the new slogans promoted by the then BJP president Vajpayee like 'Gandhian socialism' and 'positive secularism'. By the early 1980s, the RSS is said to have established its political strategy of "never keeping all its eggs in one basket". It even decided to support Congress in some states, for instance, to create theHindu Munnani in Tamil Nadu in the backdrop of the1981 Meenakshipuram mass conversion to Islam, and to support one of its offshoots,Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), to launch an enthno-religious movement on theAyodhya dispute. BJP did not have much electoral success in its initial years and was able to win only two seats in the1984 elections. After L. K. Advani replaced Vajpayee as party president in 1986, the BJP also began to rally around the Ayodhya campaign. In 1990, the party organised theRam Rath Yatra to advance this campaign in large-scale.[265][117] Advani also attacked the then ruling Congress party with the slogans such as 'pseudo-secularism', accusing Congress of misusing secularism for the political appeasement of minorities, and established an explicit and unambiguous path of Hindu revival.[122]
The 'instrumentalisation' of the Ayodhya issue and the related communal riots which polarised the electorate along religious lines helped the BJP make good progress in the subsequent elections of1989,1991 and1996. However, in the mid-1990s, BJP adopted a more moderate approach to politics in order to make allies. As Jaffrelot remarks, it was because the party realised during then that it would not be in a position to form the government on its own in the near future. In 1998, it built a major coalition,National Democratic Alliance (NDA), in the Lok Sabha and succeeded in thegeneral election in 1998, and was able to succeed again in themid-term elections of 1999, with Vajpayee as their Prime Ministerial candidate. Though the RSS and other Sangh Parivar components appreciated some of the steps taken by the Vajpayee government, like thetesting of a nuclear bomb, they felt disappointed with the government's overall performance. The fact that no solid step was taken towards building theRam temple in Ayodhya was resented by the VHP. Theliberalisation policy of the government faced objection from theBharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, a trade union controlled by the RSS. Jaffrelot says the RSS and the other Sangh Parivar elements had come to the view that the "BJP leaders had been victims of their thirst for power: they had preferred to compromise to remain in office instead of sticking to their principles."[269]
After the end of Vajpayee's tenure in 2004, BJP remained as a major opposition party in the subsequent years; and again in the year 2014, the NDA came to power after BJP gained an overwhelming majority in the2014 general elections, withNarendra Modi, an RSS member who previously served as Gujarat's chief minister for three terms, as their prime ministerial candidate. Modi was able to project himself as a person who could bring about "development", without focus on any specific policies,[270] through the "Gujarat development model" which was frequently used to counter the allegations of communalism.[271] Voter dissatisfaction with the Congress, as well as the support from the RSS are also stated as reasons for the BJP's success in the 2014 elections.[270]
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Hindu organization. Also known as: National Volunteers Corps, RSS, Rashtriya Seva Sangh. Quick Facts: Hindi: "National Volunteer Organization"; Also called: Rashtriya Seva Sangh; Date: 1925 - present; Areas Of Involvement: Hindutva, Hinduism; Related People: K.B. Hedgewar, Rajnath Singh, Narendra Modi. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), organization founded in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1889–1940), a physician living in the Maharashtra region of India, as part of the movement against British rule and as a response to rioting between Hindus and Muslims. Hedgewar was heavily influenced by the writings of the Hindu nationalist ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and adopted much of his rhetoric concerning the need for the creation of a "Hindu nation." ... The RSS presents itself as a cultural, not a political, organization that nevertheless advocates a Hindu nationalistic agenda under the banner of Hindutva, or "Hindu-ness."
Hindutva, right-wing ethno-nationalist political ideology that defines the cultural identity of India in terms of Hinduism and desires to make India an overtly Hindu nation-state. The term Hindutva was first defined in the early 1920s by Indian nationalist activist and politician Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Today it is most closely associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (Hindi/English: Indian People's Party; BJP), one of the main political parties in India, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Hindi: National Volunteer Organization; RSS), a nonpolitical Hindu nationalist paramilitary organization. ... Hindutva as an ideology must be understood as distinct from Hinduism as a religion—not all adherents of Hinduism subscribe to Hindutva—and Savarkar's original definition asserts Hindutva as an ethnic category and eschews a specific religious connotation. In current practice the ideology tends to be strongly pro-Hindu and staunchly anti-Muslim. However, supporters often define Hindutva in purely cultural terms as a "way of life."
Community of National Volunteers" founded in 1925 in Nagpur (Maharashtra, India) by K.B. Hedgewar. His objectives were the propagation of the doctrine of Hindutva, the militant defense of Hinduism, and the creation of a national community (sangh) as the social basis of the future Hindu rashtra, i.e. a political system in which the entire population would have to adhere to the majority culture. ... Banned after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi (1948) by former activist N.V. Godse, it was rehabilitated in 1950 and for several years acted as a forum for debate of the Indian right. At the end of the eighties he returned to the forefront of public life by working in concert with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, with whom it formed the Sangh parivar ("family of communities").
...the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the paramilitary organization which advocates a militant Hinduism and a Hindu polity in modern India, not only played no role in the anti-colonial struggle but actively collaborated with the British.
Three years later Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, one of the Mahasabha's leading intellectuals, founded the paramilitary Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or National Volunteers' Association to defend Hindus and Hinduism.
The RSS, with its several million members, can be characterized as the largest private 'paramilitary' body existing in any contemporary nation. There already exists a subversion of formal liberal democracy because of the unique and bizarre association between an undemocratic, secretive national paramilitary cult with an ambiguous corporate and legal status, a legal political party (one which already represents numerous RSS members andpracharaks), and the institutions of the central and federal state.
A couple of years later, India was ruled by the Janata coalition, which consisted also of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the then-political arm of the extreme right-wing Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS – National Volunteers Organisation).
Khilafat movement which was primarily designed to prevent the allied dismemberment of Turkey after World War One.
Explanation II: In sub-Clause (b) of clause (2), the reference to Hindus shall be construed as including a reference to persons professing the Sikh, Jaina or Buddhist religion
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)As against the mere silencing of the diverse cultures and contributions of women, minorities or workers found in conservative visions of education, the fascist school curriculum involves active manipulation of historical evidence in order to foster hatred for and violence against minorities................ Indeed, the fact that Pakistan and Indian Muslims are never explicitly named but referred to only as 'the neighbouring country' or terrorists paradoxically serves to strengthen the message - since the RSS can then take recourse to the claim of pure 'nationalism'. Students claim they are taught only about 'Indian' culture and deny that they are taught to hate other communities. They don't realise that the version of Indian culture they are taught is such a strongly Hindu and anti-minority one
The RSS had promoted a campaign of hatred against Gandhi, accusing him of being a traitor because of his willingness to negotiate with the Muslim community.
Through its strict, centralized, and authoritarian organiza-tion, the RSS controls a host of sister organizations devoted to the infusion of Hindu culture and values in different spheres of Indian society. The other side of this strategy of Hinduization is the aggressive stance against minorities who do not fit into the vision of Hindu society. The RSS and its leaders have always been motivated by hatred against Muslims and Christians, and they have created several terrorist organizations devoted to attacking members of these minority groups in different parts of India. Best known among the terrorist groups controlled by the RSS is the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the VHP, which specializes in violence against Muslims and Christians and has been involved in large-scale atrocities in India.
However, the RSS has planned these attacks while denying responsibility for them to generate fear and hatred of Muslims while claiming that Hindus are victims.
The "significant other" of the RSS's alternative civil society in Pune remains, nonetheless, the anglicized establishment from which it has been excluded, while the immediate cause of fear and object of hatred, as always, is the Muslim community
Another main-tained that from its very origins, Hindu nationalism looked to Fascist Italy and National Socialist Germany for inspiration, and yet another identified the RSS, its affiliated organizations, and the BJP (its "political front"), as fascist — by identifying its essential traits as nothing other than "intolerance, hatred, brutality, and [the] urge for ethnic cleansing."
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