Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ
Bhagwa Dhwaj or saffron flag, an official symbol of the RSS[1]
RSS members marching in Bhopal
AbbreviationRSS
Formation27 September 1925 (1925-09-27)
FounderK. B. Hedgewar
TypeNon-profit political organisation
Legal statusActive
PurposePromotion of Hindu nationalism and Hindutva[2][3]
HeadquartersDr. Hedgewar Bhawan, Sangh Building Road, Nagpur, Maharashtra – 440 032, India
Coordinates21°08′46″N 79°06′40″E / 21.146°N 79.111°E / 21.146; 79.111
Area served
India
Membership
Sarsanghchalak (Chief)
Mohan Bhagwat
Sarkaryawah (General Secretary)
Dattatreya Hosabale
AffiliationsSangh Parivar
Websiterss.org

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), (राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ, lit. "National Volunteer Union" or "National Volunteer Corps") is an Indian right-wing Hindu nationalist volunteer organization. It leads a group of affiliated organizations called the Sangh Parivar ("Sangh family"), which have a presence across Indian society. This network includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, the current ruling party under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mohan Bhagwat has been the Sarsanghchalak (सरसंघचालक, Chief leader) of the RSS since March 2009.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was founded on 27 September 1925 with the aim of providing character training and promoting "Hindu discipline" to unite the Hindu community and establish a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation). It works to spread the ideology of Hindutva and emphasizes the preservation of Indian culture and civilizational values. However, RSS has been a subject of debate and criticism. Some describe it as being founded on Hindu supremacy and have accused it of intolerance toward minorities, particularly in relation to anti-Muslim activities. The organization's role in Indian politics and society continues to be widely discussed and interpreted from different perspectives.[14][15][16][3][17][18]

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) did not participate in the Indian independence movement and has been criticized for its ties to the British colonial administration. After India's independence, it grew into a major Hindu nationalist organization, establishing schools, charities, and affiliated groups to promote its ideology. The RSS was banned multiple times by the Indian government. The first ban was in 1948 after Nathuram Godse, a former RSS member, assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. It was banned again during the Emergency (1975–1977) and a third time following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992.Today, the RSS is considered the world's largest far-right organization by membership. However, it has faced criticism, with scholars arguing that it spreads hatred and promotes violence. Its role in Indian politics and society remains a subject of ongoing debate.[19][20]ref name="indianexpress kar sevaks">"How the BJP, RSS mobilised kar sevaks". The Indian Express. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2011.</ref>[21][22][11][23]

References

  1. ↑ Bapu 2013, p. 99.
  2. ↑ Embree, Ainslie T. (2005). "Who speaks for India? The Role of Civil Society". In Rafiq Dossani; Henry S. Rowen (eds.). Prospects for Peace in South Asia. Stanford University Press. pp. 141–184. ISBN 0804750858.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jaffrelot, Christophe (2010). Religion, Caste, and Politics in India. Primus Books. p. 46. ISBN 9789380607047.
  4. ↑ Priti Gandhi (15 May 2014). "Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh: How the world's largest NGO has changed the face of Indian democracy". DNA India. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  5. ↑ "Hindus to the fore". The Economist. 21 May 2015. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017.
  6. ↑ "Glorious 87: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh turns 87 on today on Vijayadashami". Samvada. 24 October 2012. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "How RSS is looking to boost appeal with a younger top rung". India Today. 19 March 2024. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)". Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2010. (Hindi: "National Volunteer Organisation") also called Rashtriya Seva Sangh
  9. ↑ Jain, Rupam; Chaturvedi, Arpan (11 January 2023). "Leader of influential Hindu group backs LGBT rights in India". Reuters. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  10. ↑ Jeff Haynes (2 September 2003). Democracy and Political Change in the Third World. Routledge. pp. 168–. ISBN 978-1-134-54184-3. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Johnson, Matthew; Garnett, Mark; Walker, David M. (2017), Conservatism and Ideology, Routledge, p. 77, ISBN 978-1-317-52899-9, retrieved 25 March 2021, 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).
  12. ↑ Horowitz, Donald L. (2001). The Deadly Ethnic Riot. University of California Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-0520224476.
  13. ↑ Andersen & Damle 1987, p. 111.
  14. ↑ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (20 September 2022). "What is Hindu nationalism and how does it relate to trouble in Leicester?". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Chitkara, National Upsurge 2004, p. 362.
  16. ↑ Singh, Amit (31 October 2022). "🌊 Hindutva fascism threatens the world's largest democracy". The Loop. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  17. ↑ Dina Nath Mishra (1980). RSS: Myth and Reality. Vikas Publishing House. p. 24. ISBN 978-0706910209.
  18. ↑ Andersen & Damle 1987, p. 2.
  19. ↑ Curran, Jean A. (17 May 1950). "The RSS: Militant Hinduism". Far Eastern Survey. 19 (10): 93–98. doi:10.2307/3023941. JSTOR 3023941.
  20. ↑ Bhatt, Chetan (August 2004). "Democracy and Hindu nationalism". Democratization. 11 (4). Routledge: 133–154. doi:10.1080/1351034042000234567. ISSN 1743-890X. Retrieved 16 July 2025. 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 and pracharaks), and the institutions of the central and federal state.
  21. ↑ Lal, Vinay (2003). The History of History: Politics and Scholarship in Modern India. Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-19-566465-2. 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.
  22. ↑ Bhatt, Hindu Nationalism 2001, p. 99"RSS was not considered an adversary by the British. On the contrary, it gave loyal consent to the British to be part of the Civic Guard."
  23. ↑ Pal, Felix; Chaudhary, Neha (4 March 2023). "Leaving the Hindu Far Right". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 46 (2): 425–444. doi:10.1080/00856401.2023.2179817. ISSN 0085-6401. S2CID 257565310.
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