RSS-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

The Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh -- RSS or the National Association of Self-helpers, is a very large, voluntary organization focusing on development of the society based on Hindutwa -- the essence of Hinduism. The RSS was founded by Dr. K.B. Hedgewar in 1925 when he unfurled the Bhagawadhaj-saffron flag-at a camp in Amaravati.  Hedgewar talked of a Hindu-Rashra, but was his successor, M.S. Golwalkar, popularly known as Guruji who expounded its ideology.

Hindu youths were recruited into RSS and trained in self-defense.  They were told that the fight for freedom of Hindus should take precedence over the fight for freedom of India. The spate of communal riots from 1924 to 1927 helped the RSS movement grow.  After the partition, the RSS concentrated its activities in around Delhi where Hindu refugees from West Pakistan were migrating in hundreds of thousands.  Its membership grew by leaps and bounds.
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RSS has been banned in India twice but has remained a strong and popular political force.  Soon after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, there was anti-RSS violence, as the rumors spread that the many of the conspirators were members of the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha.  In February of 1948, the RSS was declared an unlawful organization and the ban continued over a year.  Indira Gandhi again banned RSS during the emergency, but its forces were instrumental in defeating Mrs. Gandhi in the subsequent elections and RSS flourished under the Janata Party rule.

Today, the core of RSS has been weakened by differences in political ideology, its branding as a communal force by its rivals and the weakness of its own leadership.The RSS was founded by Dr. K.B. Hedgewar in 1925 when he unfurled the Bhagawadhaj-saffron flag-at a camp in Amaravati.  Hedgewar talked of a Hindu-Rashra, but was his successor, M.S. Golwalkar, popularly known as Guruji who expounded its ideology.

Hindu youths were recruited into RSS and trained in self-defense.  They were told that the fight for freedom of Hindus should take precedence over the fight for freedom of India. The spate of communal riots from 1924 to 1927 helped the RSS movement grow.  After the partition, the RSS concentrated its activities in around Delhi where Hindu refugees from West Pakistan were migrating in hundreds of thousands.  Its membership grew by leaps and bounds.

RSS has been banned in India twice but has remained a strong and popular political force.  Soon after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, there was anti-RSS violence, as the rumors spread that the many of the conspirators were members of the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha.  In February of 1948, the RSS was declared an unlawful organization and the ban continued over a year.  Indira Gandhi again banned RSS during the emergency, but its forces were instrumental in defeating Mrs. Gandhi in the subsequent elections and RSS flourished under the Janata Party rule.

Today, the core of RSS has been weakened by differences in political ideology, its branding as a communal force by its rivals and the weakness of its own leadership.The RSS was founded by Dr. K.B. Hedgewar in 1925 when he unfurled the Bhagawadhaj-saffron flag-at a camp in Amaravati.  Hedgewar talked of a Hindu-Rashra, but was his successor, M.S. Golwalkar, popularly known as Guruji who expounded its ideology.

Hindu youths were recruited into RSS and trained in self-defense.  They were told that the fight for freedom of Hindus should take precedence over the fight for freedom of India. The spate of communal riots from 1924 to 1927 helped the RSS movement grow.  After the partition, the RSS concentrated its activities in around Delhi where Hindu refugees from West Pakistan were migrating in hundreds of thousands.  Its membership grew by leaps and bounds.

RSS has been banned in India twice but has remained a strong and popular political force.  Soon after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, there was anti-RSS violence, as the rumors spread that the many of the conspirators were members of the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha.  In February of 1948, the RSS was declared an unlawful organization and the ban continued over a year.  Indira Gandhi again banned RSS during the emergency, but its forces were instrumental in defeating Mrs. Gandhi in the subsequent elections and RSS flourished under the Janata Party rule.

Today, the core of RSS has been weakened by differences in political ideology, its branding as a communal force by its rivals and the weakness of its own leadership.

 

IN October, Karnataka was mired in political shenanigans and uncertainties. With the transfer of power from the Janata Dal (Secular) to its coalition partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), not taking off, hell broke loose as the political . . . . ("The Ideology Is Only In Speeches": , Frontline, Ravi Sharma , Nov 07, 2007)

No soon do elections come around that the political parties start looking for the voters they had discarded for the previous five years. (Clueless Congress, Asian Age, Seema Mustafa, Nov 05, 2007)

In Communist-ruled West Bengal, people have risen in revolt against the continuing scandal of fair price shops and food riots have broken out. (Charity Begins At Party Office, Pioneer, Balbir K Punj, Nov 02, 2007)

The last two times I had made an educated guess about elections — first,when I expected the Mamata Banerjee-led coalition to gloriously dislodge West Bengal's Left Front government in 2001; second, when I thought that the NDA would return to . . . . (Gather Round That Totem Pole, Hindustan Times, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 02, 2007)

The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, has advocated a "Hindutva-oriented third front" to defeat Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP, while denying the Congress the advantage of capitalising on the "anti-Modi sentiments." (Uma Bharti Supports Keshubhai'S Candidature , Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 02, 2007)

I HAVE reasons to believe that Atal Bihari Vajpayee, when he was Prime Minister, wanted to dismiss Nahrendra Modi and had planned to do so after his visit to Ahmedabad. (Raj Dharma Fails In Gujarat, Tribune, Kuldip Nayar, Nov 02, 2007)

Already facing lack of issues after its agenda was hijacked by the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the formation of the district unit of the Jammu State Morcha (JSM) Progressive has added to the difficulties of the Udhampur BJP. (Jsm Unit In Udhampur Leaves Bjp Worried , Tribune, Dinesh Manhotra, Oct 31, 2007)

On the face of it, the latest sting operation by Tehelka, also being telecast on TV, appears to expose those responsible for the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat in February 2002. (In Modi'S Best Interests, Hindustan Times, Editorial, HindustanTimes, Oct 29, 2007)

Accusing successive Congress governments of "inept handling" of internal security, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Sunday said the "faulty" policies of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru are responsible for the Kashmir problem. ('Nehru'S Policies Caused Kashmir Problem', Asian Age, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 29, 2007)

Reacting to the Tehelka sting operation on the 2002 Gujarat riots, a coalition of Indian-American organisations, the Indian National Overseas Congress and Indian Muslim Council-USA have demanded action against the persons who admitted on tape to participa ('Punish Those Shown Guilty On Tehelka Tapes' , The Economic Times, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 27, 2007)

Denies confrontation with State RSS leadership (Rajasthan Bjp Chief Rules Out Removal From Post , Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 26, 2007)

Bhagat Singh and his comrades belong to those momentous decades in Indian history – the late 1920s and 30s – when options were more open, popular aspirations ran high and "revolution" and "national liberation" were current in the political . . . . (A Radical Legacy, Frontline, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 24, 2007)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has offered himself for direct election only once: In 1999, when he was the Congress candidate for South Delhi. (False Eloquence Does Pm In, Pioneer, Swapan Dasgupta, Oct 22, 2007)

Some FAQs on Burma that the foreign policy establishment would duck in the 'national interest' (South Block's Lowest Hour, Pioneer, Udayan Namboodiri, Oct 13, 2007)

The Communist Party of India(Marxist) on Thursday sought a clarification from the Election Commission on the two-phase Assembly elections in Gujarat on December 11 and 16, claiming that the Commission was "applying different . . . .. . (Why Different Yardsticks For Different States, Cpi(m) Asks Ec, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 12, 2007)

IN the entire corpus of American writings on India, this book stands out in all its uniqueness. (Path To Partion:, Frontline, A.G. NOORANI, Oct 12, 2007)

The decision to hold two-phase elections in Gujarat has drawn flak from the CPM which hinted at the Election Commission's institutional bias against the Left. (Cpm Poses Uneasy Questions To Ec, New Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 12, 2007)

Critics might claim otherwise, but both the Left and Right surely seem to have fully mastered the praxis of democracy. It is doubtless due to its moral virtues that the Left is able to lecture its considerably larger allies on weighty issues like coalitio (In Praise Of The Other , The Economic Times, Editorial, Economic Times, Oct 12, 2007)

The Organiser is agitated over Sonia Gandhi representing India at the UN. (Real Gandhi, Indian Express, VARGHESE K. GEORGE, Oct 11, 2007)

With reference to the interview with the former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, published in The Hindu dated October 10, the zonal secretary of the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from Bangalore, K. Narahari, writes: (Rss Denies Kumaraswamy'S Claim, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 11, 2007)

 

IN October, Karnataka was mired in political shenanigans and uncertainties. With the transfer of power from the Janata Dal (Secular) to its coalition partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), not taking off, hell broke loose as the political . . . . ("The Ideology Is Only In Speeches": , Frontline, Ravi Sharma , Nov 07, 2007)

No soon do elections come around that the political parties start looking for the voters they had discarded for the previous five years. (Clueless Congress, Asian Age, Seema Mustafa, Nov 05, 2007)

In Communist-ruled West Bengal, people have risen in revolt against the continuing scandal of fair price shops and food riots have broken out. (Charity Begins At Party Office, Pioneer, Balbir K Punj, Nov 02, 2007)

The last two times I had made an educated guess about elections — first,when I expected the Mamata Banerjee-led coalition to gloriously dislodge West Bengal's Left Front government in 2001; second, when I thought that the NDA would return to . . . . (Gather Round That Totem Pole, Hindustan Times, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 02, 2007)

The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, has advocated a "Hindutva-oriented third front" to defeat Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP, while denying the Congress the advantage of capitalising on the "anti-Modi sentiments." (Uma Bharti Supports Keshubhai'S Candidature , Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 02, 2007)

I HAVE reasons to believe that Atal Bihari Vajpayee, when he was Prime Minister, wanted to dismiss Nahrendra Modi and had planned to do so after his visit to Ahmedabad. (Raj Dharma Fails In Gujarat, Tribune, Kuldip Nayar, Nov 02, 2007)

Already facing lack of issues after its agenda was hijacked by the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the formation of the district unit of the Jammu State Morcha (JSM) Progressive has added to the difficulties of the Udhampur BJP. (Jsm Unit In Udhampur Leaves Bjp Worried , Tribune, Dinesh Manhotra, Oct 31, 2007)

On the face of it, the latest sting operation by Tehelka, also being telecast on TV, appears to expose those responsible for the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat in February 2002. (In Modi'S Best Interests, Hindustan Times, Editorial, HindustanTimes, Oct 29, 2007)

Accusing successive Congress governments of "inept handling" of internal security, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Sunday said the "faulty" policies of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru are responsible for the Kashmir problem. ('Nehru'S Policies Caused Kashmir Problem', Asian Age, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 29, 2007)

Reacting to the Tehelka sting operation on the 2002 Gujarat riots, a coalition of Indian-American organisations, the Indian National Overseas Congress and Indian Muslim Council-USA have demanded action against the persons who admitted on tape to participa ('Punish Those Shown Guilty On Tehelka Tapes' , The Economic Times, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 27, 2007)

Denies confrontation with State RSS leadership (Rajasthan Bjp Chief Rules Out Removal From Post , Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 26, 2007)

Bhagat Singh and his comrades belong to those momentous decades in Indian history – the late 1920s and 30s – when options were more open, popular aspirations ran high and "revolution" and "national liberation" were current in the political . . . . (A Radical Legacy, Frontline, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 24, 2007)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has offered himself for direct election only once: In 1999, when he was the Congress candidate for South Delhi. (False Eloquence Does Pm In, Pioneer, Swapan Dasgupta, Oct 22, 2007)

Some FAQs on Burma that the foreign policy establishment would duck in the 'national interest' (South Block's Lowest Hour, Pioneer, Udayan Namboodiri, Oct 13, 2007)

The Communist Party of India(Marxist) on Thursday sought a clarification from the Election Commission on the two-phase Assembly elections in Gujarat on December 11 and 16, claiming that the Commission was "applying different . . . .. . (Why Different Yardsticks For Different States, Cpi(m) Asks Ec, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 12, 2007)

IN the entire corpus of American writings on India, this book stands out in all its uniqueness. (Path To Partion:, Frontline, A.G. NOORANI, Oct 12, 2007)

The decision to hold two-phase elections in Gujarat has drawn flak from the CPM which hinted at the Election Commission's institutional bias against the Left. (Cpm Poses Uneasy Questions To Ec, New Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 12, 2007)

Critics might claim otherwise, but both the Left and Right surely seem to have fully mastered the praxis of democracy. It is doubtless due to its moral virtues that the Left is able to lecture its considerably larger allies on weighty issues like coalitio (In Praise Of The Other , The Economic Times, Editorial, Economic Times, Oct 12, 2007)

The Organiser is agitated over Sonia Gandhi representing India at the UN. (Real Gandhi, Indian Express, VARGHESE K. GEORGE, Oct 11, 2007)

With reference to the interview with the former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, published in The Hindu dated October 10, the zonal secretary of the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from Bangalore, K. Narahari, writes: (Rss Denies Kumaraswamy'S Claim, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 11, 2007)

 

IN October, Karnataka was mired in political shenanigans and uncertainties. With the transfer of power from the Janata Dal (Secular) to its coalition partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), not taking off, hell broke loose as the political . . . . ("The Ideology Is Only In Speeches": , Frontline, Ravi Sharma , Nov 07, 2007)

No soon do elections come around that the political parties start looking for the voters they had discarded for the previous five years. (Clueless Congress, Asian Age, Seema Mustafa, Nov 05, 2007)

In Communist-ruled West Bengal, people have risen in revolt against the continuing scandal of fair price shops and food riots have broken out. (Charity Begins At Party Office, Pioneer, Balbir K Punj, Nov 02, 2007)

The last two times I had made an educated guess about elections — first,when I expected the Mamata Banerjee-led coalition to gloriously dislodge West Bengal's Left Front government in 2001; second, when I thought that the NDA would return to . . . . (Gather Round That Totem Pole, Hindustan Times, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 02, 2007)

The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, has advocated a "Hindutva-oriented third front" to defeat Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP, while denying the Congress the advantage of capitalising on the "anti-Modi sentiments." (Uma Bharti Supports Keshubhai'S Candidature , Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 02, 2007)

I HAVE reasons to believe that Atal Bihari Vajpayee, when he was Prime Minister, wanted to dismiss Nahrendra Modi and had planned to do so after his visit to Ahmedabad. (Raj Dharma Fails In Gujarat, Tribune, Kuldip Nayar, Nov 02, 2007)

Already facing lack of issues after its agenda was hijacked by the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP), the formation of the district unit of the Jammu State Morcha (JSM) Progressive has added to the difficulties of the Udhampur BJP. (Jsm Unit In Udhampur Leaves Bjp Worried , Tribune, Dinesh Manhotra, Oct 31, 2007)

On the face of it, the latest sting operation by Tehelka, also being telecast on TV, appears to expose those responsible for the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat in February 2002. (In Modi'S Best Interests, Hindustan Times, Editorial, HindustanTimes, Oct 29, 2007)

Accusing successive Congress governments of "inept handling" of internal security, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani on Sunday said the "faulty" policies of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru are responsible for the Kashmir problem. ('Nehru'S Policies Caused Kashmir Problem', Asian Age, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 29, 2007)

Reacting to the Tehelka sting operation on the 2002 Gujarat riots, a coalition of Indian-American organisations, the Indian National Overseas Congress and Indian Muslim Council-USA have demanded action against the persons who admitted on tape to participa ('Punish Those Shown Guilty On Tehelka Tapes' , The Economic Times, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 27, 2007)

Denies confrontation with State RSS leadership (Rajasthan Bjp Chief Rules Out Removal From Post , Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 26, 2007)

Bhagat Singh and his comrades belong to those momentous decades in Indian history – the late 1920s and 30s – when options were more open, popular aspirations ran high and "revolution" and "national liberation" were current in the political . . . . (A Radical Legacy, Frontline, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 24, 2007)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has offered himself for direct election only once: In 1999, when he was the Congress candidate for South Delhi. (False Eloquence Does Pm In, Pioneer, Swapan Dasgupta, Oct 22, 2007)

Some FAQs on Burma that the foreign policy establishment would duck in the 'national interest' (South Block's Lowest Hour, Pioneer, Udayan Namboodiri, Oct 13, 2007)

The Communist Party of India(Marxist) on Thursday sought a clarification from the Election Commission on the two-phase Assembly elections in Gujarat on December 11 and 16, claiming that the Commission was "applying different . . . .. . (Why Different Yardsticks For Different States, Cpi(m) Asks Ec, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 12, 2007)

IN the entire corpus of American writings on India, this book stands out in all its uniqueness. (Path To Partion:, Frontline, A.G. NOORANI, Oct 12, 2007)

The decision to hold two-phase elections in Gujarat has drawn flak from the CPM which hinted at the Election Commission's institutional bias against the Left. (Cpm Poses Uneasy Questions To Ec, New Indian Express, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 12, 2007)

Critics might claim otherwise, but both the Left and Right surely seem to have fully mastered the praxis of democracy. It is doubtless due to its moral virtues that the Left is able to lecture its considerably larger allies on weighty issues like coalitio (In Praise Of The Other , The Economic Times, Editorial, Economic Times, Oct 12, 2007)

The Organiser is agitated over Sonia Gandhi representing India at the UN. (Real Gandhi, Indian Express, VARGHESE K. GEORGE, Oct 11, 2007)

With reference to the interview with the former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, published in The Hindu dated October 10, the zonal secretary of the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from Bangalore, K. Narahari, writes: (Rss Denies Kumaraswamy'S Claim, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 11, 2007)