Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Hindu nationalist volunteer organization with a widespread network of affiliate groups active in religion, politics, education, and other fields. It was founded in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1889–1940), a physician from the Maharashtra region of India, as a cultural organization to promote discipline, unity, and a sense of identity among Hindus at a time of communal tensions in colonial India.

Historical background

Hedgewar, who was associated with the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) during the 1920s, gradually became disillusioned with its methods during the Indian Independence Movement. He was opposed to the party’s support for the Khilafat movement (1919–24), a pan-Islamic campaign led by Indian Muslims that aimed to pressure the British leadership to protect the Ottoman caliphate. Although the Congress Party believed that supporting the movement would bolster Hindu-Muslim unity in India, Hedgewar saw the party’s endorsement of a cause based on religious identity as minimizing the political goal of independence for India. Several Hindu-Muslim riots at the time seemingly reinforced his view that the Congress Party’s strategy was ineffective. He believed that Hindus needed to be disciplined and organized to build a cohesive community that could lead India toward independence.

Hedgewar was heavily influenced by the writings of the Hindu nationalist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, particularly the book Essentials of Hindutva (1923; retitled Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu? in 1928). Hindutva (“Hindu-ness”), according to Savarkar, defined a Hindu in ethnic and cultural terms as anyone with shared ancestry and civilizational ties to the Indian subcontinent, an idea that formed the basis of what he saw as a Hindu Rashtra (“Hindu Nation”). Hedgewar adopted much of Savarkar’s rhetoric concerning the need for the creation of a “Hindu nation.”

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Founding and structure

On September 27, 1925, coinciding with the Hindu festival of Dussehra, Hedgewar formed the RSS as a disciplined cadre, initially consisting mostly of upper-caste Brahmins who were dedicated to independence and the protection of Hindu political, cultural, and religious interests. The RSS presents itself as a cultural, not a political, organization that nevertheless advocates a Hindu nationalistic agenda under the banner of Hindutva.

The RSS is structured hierarchically under the guidance of a sarsanghchalak (Sanskrit: “chief leader of organization”), while regional leaders are charged with overseeing the shakhas, or local branches. A major emphasis is placed on dedication and discipline, both mental and physical, as means to restore strength, valor, and courage in Hindu youth and to foster unity among Hindus of all castes and classes. Paramilitary training and daily exercise and drills are part of this discipline. The RSS reveres Hanuman—in Hindu mythology, the commander of the monkey army from the Ramayana, who assisted the warrior prince Rama, an incarnation of the god Vishnu, in rescuing Rama’s wife, Sita, from the demon king Ravana of Lanka—and in the organization’s early years it made Hanuman the center of its initiation ceremony. The group adopted a flag that came to be called the Bhagwa Dhwaj (“Saffron Flag”).

After independence

Until 1940 the RSS was led by Hedgewar and functioned primarily as a volunteer organization through daily activities in shakhas. After Hedgewar died that year, leadership passed to Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, under whom the organization expanded throughout India. In 1948 the RSS was banned by the Congress Party-led government for its alleged involvement in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and in activities such as promoting communalism and military-style training. The Indian government revoked the ban in the following year when the RSS agreed to adopt a constitution that swore loyalty to the Constitution of India and the national flag. In 1951 politician Shyama Prasad Mukherjee established the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS; Indian People’s Association) as the RSS’s political wing. The BJS became the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; Indian People’s Party) in 1980.

Golwalkar died in 1973 and was succeeded as sarsanghchalak by Madhukar Dattatraya Deoras. During Deoras’s tenure, the organization was banned twice: in 1975 when, at the behest of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Pres. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed imposed the Emergency (1975–77), and in 1992 after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, for allegedly inciting communal tensions. The bans ended in 1977 and 1993, respectively. In 1994 Rajendra Singh assumed leadership of the organization, and two years later the BJP entered power at the national level, a development that helped raise political visibility for the RSS.

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In the 21st century

Kuppahalli Sitaramayya Sudarshan led the RSS from 2000 to 2009. This period was marked by his emphasis on economic self-sufficiency and criticism of the economic and foreign policies of both the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA; 1999–2004) and the Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA; 2004–09) governments. In 2009 Mohan Bhagwat became the sixth sarsanghchalak of the organization. Under his leadership, the RSS continued to expand its nationwide network of shakhas, reportedly growing to more than 80,000 in 2025. In 2014 the BJP won a clear majority in the Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian Parliament) elections, and Narendra Modi, a longtime RSS member, became prime minister. The organization celebrated its centenary on October 2, 2025, on the day of Dussehra.