COVER STORY
rss at 100
One Hundred Years Of...Right, Left, And The Middle
Of these, the RSS has not only survived but has grown and with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in power at the Centre and in several states.
Outlook Magazine - Who Is An Indian? - 21 October 2025 Issue
A century after its founding, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has transformed from a small volunteer group into a complex, multi-branched organisation. Outlook’s October 21st issue, titled ‘Who is an Indian’, offers a bird’s eye view of the RSS, testimonies of exclusion, inclusion, organisational complexities, and regional challenges. In ‘Borrowed Pride’, Anand Kshirsagar narrates his tale of Hindutva indoctrination and subsequent unlearning, while social activist Bhanwar Meghwanshi in, Being a Lesser Hindu, recounts his journey from an ardent RSS member to a critic. Christophe Jaffrelot talks about the way forward for the RSS, while Ram Madhav talks about the relevance and ideals of the organisation. In Ad Dharm, Y. S. Alone details the ideological opposition between the RSS and B. R. Ambedkar’s social egalitarianism. Saiyyad Mohammad Nizamuddin Pasha analyses RSS' public posture regarding Muslims in ‘Doublethink’, while Rakesh Sinha counters the critical narratives exploring RSS' success and endurance. A ground report on Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the parallel organisation for women, comes along with Sunila Sovani, emphasising how the organisation views female and male participation as complementary. The story of resistance in Tamil Nadu is presented by A. S. Panneerselvan, while columnists Sanjal Shastri and Deepak Kumar outline the challenges and the expansion of the RSS across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kashmir, North East, and a ground report from Maharashtra's Nandurbar district on the Adivasi quandary—the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA). Harish Khare details RSS' ascent to a political wing, Raghavan Balashankar outlines RSS media outreach while a book excerpt from Dhirendra K. Jha’s book talks about Golwalkar, the RSS ideologue. Read all this and more in our power packed issue, on stands now!
RSS At 100100 Years Of RSS: The Scared, And The Unchanged Core
An organisation that takes pride in being rock solid in times of liquid modernity, can it catch up with the change?
RSS At 100RSS Has Not Imprisoned Itself With A Fixed Ideology: Ram Madhav
In an interview with the Outlook, Ram Madhav explains that while the RSS views India as a Hindu nation, it prioritises qualifications over religion for leadership roles, and he discusses the organisation’s positions on Hindu Rashtra, caste, reservations, women, Adivasis and insights from his new book.
RSS at 100'When All Indians are Hindus': RSS's 100-yr-old Paradox Revisited
It is clear that the very foundation of the RSS was laid to show Muslims their place and keep them in check.
RSS At 100The Many Faces Of The RSS
Has the RSS converted social feeling into the Hindu religious identity?
RSS At 100100 Years Of Borrowed Pride Of RSS
The RSS thrives on OBC amnesia, offering borrowed pride in Hindu identity in exchange for complete obedience
RSS At 100From Swayamsevak To Ambedkarite: Bhanwar Meghwanshi On His Break from the RSS
Organisations like the RSS pretend to promote ‘harmony’, but in truth, they maintain the caste hierarchy. There is no path to liberation for Dalits within Hindutva.
RSS At 100From Margins To Mainstream: Sangh's Long March Through Corridors of Power
Shared ideas and unimaginable patience in its ambitious mission, along with uncontested moral upbringing of its cadres, has ensured the success of the RSS
RSS AT 100As Sangh Turned 100, Has Modi-Shah Turned The RSS Into Their Errand Boy?
It is ironical that the more the Modi-Shah duo cut the RSS to size, the more it becomes the punching bag for the anti-BJP forces.
RSS At 100RSS, Women, And Nation Building
For decades, a substantial number of women have been working in all the RSS-inspired organisations, with several of them holding prominent posts and playing leadership roles. The numbers are only going up.
- RSS At 100
100 Years Of RSS: The Scared, And The Unchanged Core
An organisation that takes pride in being rock solid in times of liquid modernity, can it catch up with the change?
- RSS At 100
RSS Has Not Imprisoned Itself With A Fixed Ideology: Ram Madhav
In an interview with the Outlook, Ram Madhav explains that while the RSS views India as a Hindu nation, it prioritises qualifications over religion for leadership roles, and he discusses the organisation’s positions on Hindu Rashtra, caste, reservations, women, Adivasis and insights from his new book.
- RSS at 100
'When All Indians are Hindus': RSS's 100-yr-old Paradox Revisited
It is clear that the very foundation of the RSS was laid to show Muslims their place and keep them in check.
- RSS At 100
The Many Faces Of The RSS
Has the RSS converted social feeling into the Hindu religious identity?
- RSS At 100
100 Years Of Borrowed Pride Of RSS
The RSS thrives on OBC amnesia, offering borrowed pride in Hindu identity in exchange for complete obedience
- RSS At 100
From Swayamsevak To Ambedkarite: Bhanwar Meghwanshi On His Break from the RSS
Organisations like the RSS pretend to promote ‘harmony’, but in truth, they maintain the caste hierarchy. There is no path to liberation for Dalits within Hindutva.
- RSS At 100
From Margins To Mainstream: Sangh's Long March Through Corridors of Power
Shared ideas and unimaginable patience in its ambitious mission, along with uncontested moral upbringing of its cadres, has ensured the success of the RSS
- RSS AT 100
As Sangh Turned 100, Has Modi-Shah Turned The RSS Into Their Errand Boy?
It is ironical that the more the Modi-Shah duo cut the RSS to size, the more it becomes the punching bag for the anti-BJP forces.
- RSS At 100
RSS, Women, And Nation Building
For decades, a substantial number of women have been working in all the RSS-inspired organisations, with several of them holding prominent posts and playing leadership roles. The numbers are only going up.
OTHER OUTLOOK MAGAZINE STORIES
- RSS At 100
Guru Of Exclusion: Golwalkwar's Gospel Of Communal Politics
Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, revered within the RSS and reviled outside it, remains one of the most polarising figures in modern India
- RSS at 100
The RSS Workers Pracharaks In Motion: At Their Camps In Training
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) completed 100 years in 2025. The centenary celebrations highlighted the Sangh’s activities over the years and its vision for the future
- RSS AT 100
Why Tamil Nadu’s Self-Respect Legacy Continues to Checkmate the Rise of Hindutva Politics
Tamil Nadu has more temples than any other state in India, but has refused to endorse a single religion supremacy.
- RSS at 100
Dravidian Engagement With RSS In Tamil Nadu
In Chennai, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) made a start in 1939. The organisation has continued to grow in Tamil Nadu, with its share of ups and downs over the last eight decades. North Tamil Nadu Joint Prachar Pramukh Dr K. Gopalakrishnan and RSS Media Co-ordinator Chandrasekaran spoke to Lalita Iyer about the organisation’s trajectory in the state. Excerpts:
- RSS at 100
Roots Of RSS Much Deeper In Kerala
Kerala, long resistant to Hindutva politics, paradoxically hosts more Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shakhas than most Indian states today
- RSS at 100
From A Coastal Stronghold To Footprints Across The State
A focus on local, cultural and political realities appears to be the strategy being deployed by both the RSS and the BJP to gain a stronger foothold in Karnataka
- RSS at 100
Rashtra Sevika Samiti: Patriarchal Stanche Of RSS
At Rashtra Sevika Samiti shakhas, women are offered empowerment—but only to a certain extent. Their roles remain largely defined: mothers, cultural custodians and loyal citizens
- RSS at 100
How Will The RSS Align Its Philosophy Of Cultural Homogeneity With Adivasi Identities?
RSS’ Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram works in the fields of education, health and rural development. However, the cultural homogeneity of tribals as Hindus is at the core of its agenda
- RSS at 100
RSS's Three-Point Approach For The North-East
New histories, social work and indigenous faith revivalism have been the three pillars of the RSS’ approach in Northeast India, where ‘national integration’ and Hinduisation are their top agenda
- RSS AT 100
Can The RSS's Religious Reinterpretation Woo The Seven Sisters?
The RSS is trying to bring the Northeastern communities into a broader Hindu fold by inventing cultural connections and by reinterpreting historical events through a religious lens
- RSS AT 100
RSS's Shadow Dance With Sufism In Kashmir Explained
The RSS and it shadow outfits have lauded Sufi practices and tapped the Muslims in Kashmir but political parties in J&K allege that they are claiming a bogus association with the Valley
- rss at 100
The Evolution Of RSS Publications: From Word Of Mouth To A Pan-Indian Media Presence
RSS publications are thriving at a time when the print media is facing a big circulation challenge.
