Peoples Telangana

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India’s most influential Hindu nationalist organization, is a colossus with a curious trait: it thrives in the shadows of formal governance. Founded in 1925 by K.B. Hedgewar, the RSS boasts an estimated 4–6 million volunteers and 57,000 local branches, or shakhas, across India. Yet it operates without the legal trappings typical of such a behemoth—no formal registration, no income tax filings, no membership rosters. This opacity, critics argue, is not just a quirk but a deliberate shield for its vast influence. Unlike most organizations of its scale, the RSS is not registered under India’s Societies Registration Act, Trusts Act, or   Companies Act. It exists as an unregistered voluntary body, a structure that frees it from mandatory disclosures while allowing it to orchestrate a network of affiliates, from schools to political outfits like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 2017, when a third party tried to register a sim...

Sardar Patel addressed a massive public gathering in Jaipur on Dec 19, 1948, and spoke forcefully on the RSS. Here is a report carried in the Hindustan Times the next day

Accurate Claims : Hedgewar was jailed in 1921 for Non-Cooperation Movement activities as a Congress worker. The RSS was founded in 1925 to strengthen Hindu society, not to fight colonialism directly. The RSS was not banned by the British but was banned three times by Indian governments (1948, 1975, 1992). The RSS did not officially participate in the Quit India Movement, and Congress leaders were the primary drivers of the freedom struggle. Partially Accurate/Speculative Claims : The claim that RSS swayamsevaks helped maintain “order” during Quit India is plausible but lacks direct primary evidence. The article’s assertion about Modi’s specific 2025 claims is unverifiable without a direct source. Subjective Claims : Calling the RSS’s silence during Quit India “complicit” and its mission “sectarian” reflects a critical perspective but is supported by historical evidence of its priorities. However, RSS supporters offer a counter-narrative of cultural nationalism. Unverified : Modi’s exac...

In a speech marking the centenary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi extolled the sacrifices of its founder, K.B. Hedgewar, and his followers during the country’s fight for independence. The RSS, he suggested, was a crucible of patriotism, its members jailed alongside other freedom fighters. Yet history, less pliable than political rhetoric, tells a more complex story—one where the RSS’s role in India’s anti-colonial struggle is marginal at best. Hedgewar, a medical doctor turned nationalist, was indeed imprisoned in 1921 for his role in Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement, a Congress-led campaign against British rule. But his flirtation with mainstream nationalism was brief. By 1925, disillusioned with Congress’s inclusive approach, he founded the RSS not to challenge colonialism but to forge a disciplined Hindu identity. The group’s mission was cultural revival, not political rebellion. When the Quit India Movement erupted in 1942, ga...