The Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) was founded 100 years ago on 27 September, 1925 on the day of Indian festival of Vijayadashamai, which marks the killing of Ravana by Ayodhya king Lord Rama, symbolized as victory of good over evil. In last 100 years, the RSS has acted on the intersection zone of culture and politics. because of this overlapping zone, the legacy of RSS is both admired and contested by scholars. A recent controversy involves RSS’s legal status as it is not incorporated or registered as a legal entity under any law. However, its has been recognized under the Income tax act as Body of Individuals (BOI) and has been exempted from income tax- A position which has been endorsed by courts in India so far. But this controversy has not died down as it has resurfaced in 2026 due to RSS’s alleged implicit but important influence on the BJP-ruled Central and state governments. This Article tries to impartially assess the contested legacy of RSS in last 100 years.
As the RSS celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2025-26, its unique and fluid identity continues to divide public opinion in India and abroad. RSS is neither purely a cultural organization nor purely a political organization. It is both at the same time. This unique identity is both the source of its strength as well as criticism. It enjoys huge cultural and political influence in India. In generates huge amount of funds through Guru Dakshina and donation, but it does not pay any income tax, because it is treated as ‘body of individuals’ not as a person or institutions. The Patna High Court in a ruling in February, 1994 ordered that the source of income of the RSS is Guru Dakshina, which is exempt from taxation (Indian Kanoon: Retrieved in 2026). The legal identity of RSS is also questioned as it is not registered under any law of India, yet it has a Constitution and was banned three time in post-independent India- in 1948 in the wake of Gandhi’s assassination; in 1975 during the National Emergency; and in 1992 during the Babri Mosque demolition by Karsevaks. RSS’ chequered history has produced a huge legacy, which is both contested and admired alike. Savarakar’s ideology of ‘Hindutva’ had and continues to have a deep impact on the ideological orientation of RSS, yet Savarakar never joined RSS as a member. Savarakar had close ties with founders of RSS, but he was mostly active in Hindu Mahasabha. Savrakar, while highlighting the low-key political potential of RSS, once remarked, “The epitaph for the RSS volunteer will be that he was born, he joined the RSS and he died without accomplishing anything” (Purandare: 2019). Yet, RSS, while playing at the overlapping zone of culture and politics has belied Savarkar’s remarks, as over the years, the RSS not only spread its cultural and social influence in the Indian society through its large network of Sangh Parivar organizations, but also has gained influence in the corridors of power ever since the gradual rise of BJP in national and states politics, mainly since mid-1990s. The BJP, which is a ruling party at national and state level for many years is political arm of RSS in Sangh Parivar. In view of the above background, this paper seeks to elaborate the contested legacy of the RSS with the help of its activities in the overlapping zone of Indian culture and politics. This raises the questions on what, where it does and how of RSS activities over the years since its inception 100 years back.
Formation of RSS and Its Pre-independence Journey
The Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh ( National organization of Volunteers) on 27 September, 1925 on Vijyadashami day at Nagpur by handful of people led by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, who was a congressman, but disillusioned by its policies and activities in early 1920s. As Hedgewar was influenced by the ideology of Hindutva, the Khalifat movement (2019-24) and subsequent Hindu-Muslim tensions were taken as policy of appeasement to Muslims. The withdrawal of Non-Cooperation Movement by Gandhi in February, 1922 also created a political vacuum in national politics. These factors were the immediate reasons for the formation of RSS in 1925. However, the socio-cultural reforms and revival of India’s past in 19th century had already created fertile ground for a new organization like RSS to carry forward the cultural revival and consolidation in India. Though, many social reforms and revival groups lie Brahma Samaj, Arya Samaj in 19th century and Hindu Mahasbha in 20th century tried to capture this cultural space, but RSS outlived them all due to its pan-Indian network and dedicated hard work at the ground level. The task of revival, preservation and promotion of Indian culture and social values in the face of colonialism and increasing westernization had natural appeal in India.
In the early years of the RSS, the emphasis was on initiating unity, discipline and culture consciousness among Hindus. By the late 1930s the RSS emerged as an organization of trained and dedicated volunteers though the network of Shakhas mostly in urban areas. A major emphasis is placed on dedication and discipline, both mental and physical, as means to restore strength, valour, and courage in Hindu youth and to foster unity among Hindus of all castes and classes (Britannica:2026). M. S. Golwalkar succeeded Hedgewar in 1940 and during his tenure (1940-1973) as Sarsanghachalak (Highest position in RSS) he further expanded the social and cultural reach of the organization without antagonizing British government. In order to avoid government scrutiny, RSS under Golwalkar kept RSS away from the active participation in the national movement and most notably in the Quit India Movement, 1942 (Anderson: 1972). Even the RSS kept away from the Hindu Mahasabha, which has emerged as a political party in 1930s under the leadership of Savarakar and with whom RSS shared ideological ground. An additional factor was that many RSS members were active in the Congress and RSS did not want to be associated with a group (Hindu Mahasabha) which would have placed it in direct opposition to the Congress (Anderson: 1972a). Though this distance from national movement allowed RSS to expand its social and cultural activities, but at the same time, it raised questions on its national credentials, which still haunts it even today. However, the silver lining came in the form of dedicated work of RSS volunteers during partition in helping people, which significant raised its status in India as a social service organization. In fact, the 100-year journey of RSS displays that its achievements in the social and cultural fields have largely balanced its criticism in its activities related to politicization of its Hindutva narrative. RSS displays this tendency in its entire historical journey.
Political Forays and birth of Bhartiya Jan Sangh (BJS) and BJP
As we have seen earlier, the RSS was interested in national movement and other political activities in the pre-independence era. They following the strategy of infiltration in the Congress to maintain their political influence. RSS members enjoyed the benefit of double membership of RSS and Congress both. Saradar Vallabhbhai Patel was impressed by the work of the RSS during partition and was willing to keep RSS members as congress members even after independence. However, Gandhi’s assassination in January, 1948 and alleged involvement of former RSS cadre Godse changed this perception. The RSS was banned by the government in 1948 and in 1949, the Congress Working Committee decided to ban the double membership of RSS cadres in Congress. This created a hard situation before the RSS as it suffered not only national criticism but also a political vacuum to carry on its activities. Now the RSS was looking for a new political ground. The ban on RSS was lifted by the government on 11 July, 1949 with the undertaking that RSS frames its constitution and expresses its allegiance to the Indian Constitution national flag. The RSS drafted her Constitution in 1949, but without registration with any government agency, its legal status is questionable. This is the background that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee supported by the RSS leaders founded Bhartiya Jan Sangha (BJS) on 21 October, 1951, which evolved as a political member of Sangha Parivar in RSS. This marked the shift from the strategy of infiltration to the strategy of creating its own groups and organizations. The RSS has established a large number of other institutions to spread its ideology among various types of groups like students, labour, teachers, women etc (Anderson: 1972b). These groups are collectively known as Sangha Parivar. Notable examples include the BJP; the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) the student wing of the RSS; the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), a trade union affiliated with the RSS; and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a right-wing nationalist group focused on promoting Hindutva (Britannica:2026). The RSS is all male organization, though women are allowed as members in other Sangha Parivar organizations and also engaged through a separate women organization known as Rashtriya Sevika Samiti.
Golwalkar died in 1973 and was succeeded as Sarsanghachalak by Madhukar Dattatraya Deoras who continued to hold office till 1994. During Deoras tenure the RSS was banned two times in during emergency (1975-77) and in during demolition of Babri Masjid (1992-1993). It needs to be remembered, that the top post of Sarsanghachalak in RSS is not an elected post. In fact, the outgoing chief nominates his successor. Golwalkar was succeeded by Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) in 1994 and he was succeeded by K D Sudarsan in 2000 who in turn was succeeded by the present Sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat in 2009.
Meanwhile, the BJS merged with three other political parties (Bhartiya Lok Dal, Congress-O and Socialist Party) to form a separate party known as Janata party, which remained in power of brief period (1977-79). After the disintegration of Janata party after the 1980 elections, BJS emerged as BJP on 06 April, 1980 under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L.K Advani. After the demolition of Babri Masjid on 6 December, 1992, BJP succeeded in spreading its political reach and merged for the first time as the largest political party in 1996 Lok Sabha elections. Except 10 years (2004-2014) interlude, the BJP has been at the national mainstream and has formed continuous third government in 2024. The relationship between the RSS and BJP is complex and close both. Many of RSS cadres join BJP. Since BJP as a ruling party has national obligation, there are occasional tensions between the two over policy agenda. RSS provides a wide social platform and dedicated workers at the ground level for the political mobilization by the BJP. No any party in India has such social mobilization network in place in India. Yet, the Social and cultural network of the RSS is largely concentrated in urban areas and middle classes. This weakness has now been overcome with the fact of rising middle classes and urban population of India. This has been a major fact in the rise of BJP in recent decades. Since the pace of urbanization as well as size of the middle class displays upward trajectory, the social support base of both RSS and BJP is likely to remain robust in coming years.
The Legacy of RSS: Contested Yet Counted
The RSS has adopted overlapping zone of culture and politics, which has given it resilience and strength during ups and down in last 100 years. We need to unravel the social and cultural activities of RSS from its political engagement to appreciate the 100-year legacy of RSS.
Social and Cultural Contribution of RSS
The RSS has rich legacy of contribution and social and cultural fields of India such as education and character building, youth building and nation building, relief work during disaster, health and rural development (Chaple and Diwan:2024) In the field of education and Character Building, RSS has established many schools like Saraswati Shishu Vidyalayas. These institutions provide education in remote tribal areas, ensuring that children from marginalized communities receive basic literacy and skills training. Deendayal Research Institute work in the field of rural development. Gram Vikas Yojana, a RSS-affiliated scheme runs numerous programs for village upliftment, including sanitation, water conservation, and vocational training. Seva Bharati, another affiliated organization of provides medical assistance and remote areas. For the promotion of tradition medicine, RSS has established many Arogya Mitra and Naturopathy Centers in different parts of the country. The work of dedicated Swayamsevaks of RSS is unparallel if relief operations during natural disasters. Some of the examples of relief works by RSS volunteers are during 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, 2001Gujarat Earthquake, and 2004 Tsunami. RSS has also launched Smajik Samarasta Abhiyan to eliminate caste-based discrimination and foster social cohesion. During the centenary celebration of RSS on 1 October, 2025 at Delhi, PM Modi remarked that ‘over the past century, RSS has played a significant role in education, health, social welfare, and disaster relief. RSS volunteers have actively participated in relief and rehabilitation efforts during natural disasters, including floods, earthquakes, and cyclones.’ He further stated that RSS was established as a volunteer-based organization with the goal of fostering cultural awareness, discipline, service, and social responsibility among citizens (PM India:2025). Thus, RSS has undertaken enormous social work in India, which is not visible in media due to Hindutava hype associated with RSS.
During the 100-year celebration on 02 October, 2025, the RSS has drawn up Panch Parivartan programme, which marks the social and cultural rejuvenation of Indian society in the contemporary period. The Panch Parivartan consists of five areas of focus in RSS activities in coming decades, These Five areas are: social harmony, family values, environmental protection, self-reliance (swadeshi), and civic duty. RSS Chief Mohan Bhawat called on swayamsevaks to internalize the values of Panch-Parivartan as a solution for National challenges (Bhagwat: 2025).
Legacy Contested
With many social and cultural contributions, RSS legacy has been contested from various quarters. The criticism mainly comes with three counts; First, that the RSS did not contribute to the national movement and it pursued its own agenda during national movement, which was a national question for India. Second, criticism originates from RSS’s ideology of Hindutva and cultural nationalism. Since India is a multi-religious society, critics argue that it undermines India diversity and social harmony. Critics equate Hindutava as Hindu nationalist principle and Islamophobia. (BBC: 2025). In fact, Hindutva as used by Savarakar is a cultural connotation describing adoption of adoption of Indian culture those who live in India. Though its distinct from the Hindu religion, but in popular imagination this distinction has been blurred. Third, the close association between RSS and BJP as a political party invites criticism that the social and cultural agenda of the BJP government is influenced by the RSS.
Conclusion
The RSS has been functioning at the overlapping zone of culture and politics in India, which has shaped not only its identity but also its legacy over the last 100 years. The 19th century revivalism and cultural rejuvenation provided a fertile ground for the RSS, which occupy this social and cultural space and further carry forward its mission of social and cultural rejuvenation of India. The legacy of RSS has two components : socio-cultural component and political components. In Social and cultural field, the RSS has made enormous contribution, which is helpful in preserving Indian cultural values and nation-building. The political component of its legacy provided points of its criticism, its distance from national movement, alleged link with Gandhi’s assassination and ideology of Hindutva, not amenable to India’s religious diversity. However, the social contribution of RSS in the filed of education health and relief work as well as upholding the values of Indian culture has the impact of offsetting many of criticism against RSS. Thus, RSS forays into the overlapping zone of politics and culture has enhanced her resilience to emerge stronger after difficult time. The RSS is not a political organization, but it has immense political influence. RSS is not a registered body, yet its social contribution is enormous and needs to be counted.
REFERENCES
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