The Evolution Of RSS

A century on, the RSS’s ideological framework continues to shape how national identity is imagined in India. It has redefined the question of ‘Who is an Indian?’ through a cultural lens that centres a particular civilisational idea, often sidelining those who fall outside its fold.

The founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Keshav Baliram Hedgewar’s statement that “When national work arises, call me. I will be ready to jump anywhere”, reflects the guiding principle of the RSS: a readiness to serve the nation and shape society through organised effort. 

Underlying all the cultural activities of RSS since its beginning in 1925 in Nagpur, is the ideology of Hindutva, which emphasises the cultural and civilisational unity of Hindus. While the RSS is not a political party, its ideological framework has informed governance and policy through its political wing, the Bhartiya Janta Party. Its reach into education, student life, religion, and social services ensures that its influence touches people at multiple stages of life and across different regions of India.

A century after its founding, the RSS has transformed from a small volunteer group into a complex, multi-branched organisation. Its trunk-and-branches model allows it to operate simultaneously in politics, education, social service, and cultural life, creating networks that shape institutions, communities, and public discourse. Understanding the RSS today requires recognising both its foundational philosophy and the roles played by its various wings, from the ABVP and VHP to Vidya Bharati and Sewa Bharati, in extending its influence across India.

The Outlook Magazine’s October 21 issue titled Who is an Indian?, offers a bird's-eye view of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), testimonies of exclusion and inclusion, organisational complexities, and regional challenges faced by the organisation. 

In his Borrowed Pride, Anand Kshirsagar narrates his tale of Hindutva indoctrination and subsequent unlearning of it as it thrives on OBC amnesia, offering borrowed pride in Hindu identity in exchange for complete obedience. He makes it evident that RSS did not emerge in a vacuum and its rise was born out of upper-caste anxiety about India’s shifting social and political order. He concludes that his story highlights how OBC youth risk being weaponised as Hindutva’s surplus army unless they recover their non-Brahminical social and cultural memory.

Bhanwar Meghwanshi, a social activist and journalist, recounts in an interview Being a Lesser Hindu, by Jagisha Arora about his journey from an ardent RSS member to a critic. The turning point came in 1991 when senior RSS members in his village refused to eat food prepared in his home, taking it away only to throw it by the roadside because he was a Dalit. Meghwanshi states that Dalits are often used as foot soldiers, and they are systematically excluded from leadership roles. His complaints about it were met with a deafening silence.

The central story, Ad Dharm written by Y. S. Alone revolves around the consistent ideological opposition between the RSS and B. R. Ambedkar's project for social egalitarianism. Alone argues that the RSS laboriously worked against the Annihilation of Caste project. The organisation's functioning remains highly Brahmin-centric, and Alone notes that despite the RSS claiming Hindu unity, incidents like those narrated by Bhanwar Meghwanshi reveal the deep-seated issue of untouchability.

Dhirendra K. Jha’s narrative focuses on the crystallisation of the RSS's core aggressive ideology under M. S. Golwalkar. Jha, in his book Golwalkar, reveals how the RSS ideologue explicitly presented the Nazi treatment of Jews as a model for how "foreign races"—specifically Indian Muslims and Christians—should be handled. Golwalkar prescribed that these groups must either fully adopt Hindu culture or remain in India "wholly subordinated to the Hindu Nation", forfeiting even citizens' rights.

Analysing the RSS's public posture regarding Muslims, Saiyyad Mohammad Nizamuddin Pasha, in his piece Doublethink, examines how current Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat attempts to define all Indians, including Muslims, as culturally 'Hindu'. He argues this is classic doublespeak and allows the RSS to deny any departure from its founding philosophy while simultaneously portraying its mission as serving all sections of society.

Countering critical narratives, Rakesh Sinha writes the story of the RSS's success and endurance over 100 years in his book Growth and Success. He posits that the RSS avoided confrontation with its ideological opponents (Communists, Socialists, Left-Liberals) and instead opted for patience, perseverance, and grassroots activism. Sinha stresses that the organisation’s success stems from their adherence to the principle of shared ideas propagated through its network.

The story of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti is told by Pritha Vashishth, focusing on its founding by Laxmibai Kelkar (Mausiji) in 1936 after Hedgewar advised her to form a parallel organisation for women. The Samit provides education and martial arts training while positioning women as preservers of traditional values. However, Vashishth notes that scholars critique this empowerment as deeply constrained.

Sunila Sovani narrates a complementary story of the Samiti, focusing on the encouragement given by RSS founder K. B. Hedgewar to Laxmibai Kelkar. Sovani emphasises that the RSS views men's and women's participation as complementary, recognising a woman’s "special qualities" such as motherhood, which is essential for family nurturing and societal sustenance.

In his regional narrative, N.K. Bhoopesh describes the troubles faced by RSS in Kerala in An Uphill Climb. Kerala hosts more RSS shakhas than most other states despite M. S. Golwalkar having identified it as a place where the organisation’s three "internal enemies"—Muslims, Christians, and Communists—were firmly entrenched. Bhoopesh highlights the RSS’s tactical flexibility in the region, including building political links with conservative Christian groups by leveraging their anxieties about Muslims.

Sanjal Shastri charts the RSS's expansion in Karnataka, noting that the state has emerged as the sole Southern outlier where the BJP has achieved significant electoral success. The story of this growth begins with the first shakha there in 1935 and its consolidation in coastal Karnataka. 

Priyanka Tupe reports on The Adivasi Quandary through a ground report on the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA) in Maharashtra's Nandurbar district. The VKA provides welfare and hostels for tribal children, but this work is inextricably linked to the cultural goal of Hinduisation and shraddha jagaran (religious awakening). The VKA aims to erase the Adivasis’ original cultural roots and replace them with a homogenised Hindu identity.

The story of resistance in Tamil Nadu is presented by A. S. Panneerselvan, who argues that the RSS has been checkmated in the state. The enduring influence of Periyar’s Self-Respect Movement, which fostered a "coming together" model of democratic social justice, has prevented the RSS/BJP from making significant inroads.

An interview by Lalita Iyer provides the RSS's counter-narrative, focusing on the organisation's prachar efforts in Tamil Nadu. RSS representatives claim Hindu society is awakening and gaining acceptance, asserting that the idea of Tamil nationalism is fragmented and that the Aryan-Dravidian theory is a hoax used for political division.

Finally, Harish Khare offers a critical story detailing the RSS's ascent to a political wing from the mantle of sole overseer of nationalism and collective morals. Khare argues that the RSS lost its role as the "moral inquisitorial" after aligning with the BJP, becoming complicit in political compromise and convenience. During the Modi decade, the RSS has been content to play the political accomplice, which ironically suits the leadership in Raisina Hill.