(“National Volunteer Corps,” hereafter
RSS) Hindu nationalist organization
founded in 1925 by Dr. K. B.
Hedgewar. Since its inception the RSS
has ascribed to the ideals of Hindutva,
the notion that the Hindus are a
nation despite their regional, linguistic, and cultural differences. The RSS
has historically characterized itself as
a cultural and character-building
organization and, for much of its existence, has shunned direct political
involvement, although it has exercised
considerable influence through its
many affiliated organizations.
RSS training stresses loyalty, obedience, discipline, and dedication to the
advancement of the Hindu nation, but
does not encourage the development of
independent thought. The heart of its
program are the daily meetings of its
neighborhood units known as shakhas
(“branches”). At these meetings members, known as svayamsevaks (“volunteers”), spend part of their time playing
games, part of their time practicing martial drill—including sparring with
sticks—and part of their time discussing
and absorbing RSS ideals. The shakhas in
any given area are overseen by a fulltime RSS worker known as a pracharak
(“director”), who serves as a liaison
between the local units and the RSS leadership and who oversees RSS activity in
his area.
As an organization, the RSS is profoundly elitist, and its self-proclaimed
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Rashtriya Svayamsevak Sangh
In their daily meetings, members of the Rashtriya
Svayamsevak Sangh practice martial drills that
include sparring with sticks.
mission is to provide leadership for a
renascent Hindu India. Most of its
members will never advance beyond
the local level, but those who do are
generally remarkably efficient, effective
leaders. Although the RSS has shunned
direct activism that would tarnish its
self-proclaimed cultural emphasis, it
has exercised considerable influence
through the formation of affiliated organizations, for which it has provided the
leadership cadre. These organizations
are spread throughout every level of
Indian society, from labor and student
unions to service organizations, religious organizations such as the Vishva
Hindu Parishad (VHP), and political parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Although the RSS has produced some
remarkably effective leaders, it has also
generated considerable controversy.
One reason is that it is a highly authoritarian organization, run on the model of
the Hindu joint family. All authority is
vested in a single supreme leader, the
sarsanghchalak, and proceeds downward from there. In this way the RSS is
profoundly undemocratic, and many of
its opponents—particularly in the political arena—have felt uneasy about having it as the controlling hand behind
its affiliated organizations. Other
opponents have also worried about its
anti-Muslim and anti-Christian tone—
non-Hindus were not allowed to join the
organization until 1979—a tone rooted
in the organization’s Hindutva ideals. A
final reservation about the RSS comes on
social grounds. The RSS has long condemned untouchability, and has also
long asserted that caste distinctions did
not exist within its ranks—in keeping
with its Hindutva roots, it proclaims that
all its members are Hindus and Hindus
only. Nevertheless, critics have noted
that most RSS members come from
brahmin and other privileged castes,
and that all of its leaders have been
brahmins. These critics contend that
such public disavowal of caste distinctions is a mask to perpetuate brahmin
control and to conceal whose interests
the RSS truly serves. For further information see Walter K. Andersen and
Shridhar D. Damle, The Brotherhood in
Saffron, 1987; K. Jayaprasad, The RSS and
Hindu Nationalism, 1991; Daniel Gold,
“Organized Hinduisms: From Vedic
Truth to Hindu Nation,” in Martin
Marty and R. Scott Appleby (eds.),
Fundamentalisms Observed, 1991; Tapan
Basu et al., Khaki Shorts and Saffron
Flags, 1993; Lise McKean, Divine
Enterprise, 1996; and Christopher
Jaffrelot, The Hindu Nationalist Movement
in India, 1996.