Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Marks 100 Years with Grand Celebration

 

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India’s most prominent Hindu nationalist organisation that has played a major role in shaping the political rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has completed its centenary with a large gathering of members.

 

At the organisation’s headquarters in Nagpur, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed the crowd and spoke on a wide range of issues, including India’s strained relations with Pakistan, the challenges of climate change, growing economic inequality, and political instability in neighbouring countries.

 

“Every nation depends on others in some way, and that is how international relations function. No country can exist completely on its own,” Bhagwat said, aligning his remarks with Modi’s broader vision of self-reliance in the backdrop of US tariffs on India.

 

The RSS, an all-male volunteer group that identifies itself as cultural rather than political, has often faced criticism for promoting a divisive agenda, a claim it denies. Established in 1925 by physician Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, it has become the ideological foundation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is regarded as the most influential organisation in modern India.

 

Although it officially distances itself from politics, the RSS exerts significant influence through its ideology and its close ties with the BJP, whose many leaders, including Modi, began their public life as RSS volunteers. Modi himself joined as a pracharak in his youth and continues to praise the group. At a separate event in Delhi, he released a commemorative coin and stamp to honour the organisation’s centenary, a gesture that drew sharp criticism from opposition parties.

 

The celebration in Nagpur featured thousands of volunteers in the familiar uniform of khaki trousers, white shirts, and black triangular caps. They performed synchronised drills and exercises under the scorching sun, a routine that forms part of the organisation’s daily meetings. What started in 1925 with just a dozen men has now grown into what Bhagwat described as the world’s largest volunteer movement.

 

Yet the actual number of members remains unclear. RSS spokesperson Sunil Ambekar explained that the group does not maintain official membership records. “This is not a government body. The RSS is a grassroots volunteer organisation, and it should not be seen through a rigid framework,” he said.

 

Scholars note that the opacity is deliberate. The RSS sits at the centre of a sprawling family of organisations known as the Sangh Parivar, which makes it difficult to draw clear boundaries. “It is an extremely complex network that resists simple definitions. One can never be certain where the RSS ends and its wider affiliates begin,” observed Tanika Sarkar, a visiting professor at Ashoka University.

 

Beyond politics, the organisation also runs welfare activities across India, including schools, health services, and disaster relief programmes. Volunteers are often among the first to mobilise during floods, earthquakes, and other emergencies.