If Low Profile had a name, it would be the ‘RSS’. The mega giga leviathan will turn 100, next year. Despite nearly a century of existence, the common man just knows what the left-liberal press has fed us. ‘Communal’, ‘Saffronites’, ‘Minority Haters’, ‘Knickerwalas’, ‘Sanghis’, and ‘Hindu Nationalists’ are labels that are frequently hurled at the RSS. It’s time someone took the effort to chronicle their monumental contributions to India.
I’ve attempted to do just that, piecing together 50 things you should know. Hopefully, this sparks a new level of discourse.
1. The RSS is the world’s largest Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), with over 5 million active volunteers.
2. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was founded in 1925 by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hegdewar, a physician inspired by the Anushilan Samiti, a revolutionary group in Bengal. While influenced by their focus on fitness, discipline, and nationalism, Hegdewar believed true independence would come from unifying and strengthening Hindu society, not through violence.
3. The name Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was carefully chosen after extensive deliberation by 26 dedicated Swayamsevaks. Two alternative names—Jaripataka Mandal and Bhedratoddharak Mandal—were also considered. Ultimately, the name that best aligned with the organization’s vision was chosen.
4. RSS membership is free and open to all males, regardless of caste, age, or faith, is welcome to join RSS.
5. The original RSS uniform—khaki shorts, khaki shirt, khaki cap, leather belt, brown socks, and bamboo stick—was designed by Dr. Hegdewar. In 2015, the khaki shorts were replaced by dark brown pants to keep up with the times.
6. The Bhagwa Dwaaj (saffron flag) is revered as the symbolic “Guru” or teacher by all Swayamsevaks since 1925. All salutes are to the flag and not any individual.
7. While Sanskrit commands are used in formal RSS rituals, discussions are actively encouraged in local languages.
8. Composed by Narhari Narayan Bhide, the RSS anthem ‘Namaste Sada Vatsale Mathrubhume’ is a salutation to the motherland. It concludes with the phrase ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai.’
9. The RSS has had a total of six chiefs, known as Sarsanghchalaks, since its inception.
10. All Sarsangchalaks were well-qualified. Dr. Hedgewar was a physician, Guruji Golwalkar was a lawyer, he was actually a biology PG who was in Madras for a while, pursuing a PhD in Marine Biology. He then served as a Zoology professor in BHU for three years, before he got the call, Balasaheb Deoras was a commerce graduate, Rajju Bhaiya served as HoD Physics in Allahabad University, K. S. Sudarshan was a telecom engineer, and Mohan Bhagwat holds a degree in Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry.
11. The longest serving Sarsanghachalak was Guruji Golwalkar.
12. Contrary to the propaganda that the RSS had no involvement in the independence movement, its founder Dr. Hegdewar was jailed twice by the British for sedition—first in 1921 and again in 1930.
13. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar attended an RSS training camp in Pune in 1939, where he was impressed by the absence of caste discrimination among the volunteers.
14. Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse broke away from RSS in 1942 to form his own militant organisation called Hindu Rashtra Dal. Gandhiji’s assassination was resolutely condemned by sarsangachalak ‘Guruji’ Golwalkar.
15. The RSS has been banned three times in independent India. The first ban was imposed on February 4, 1948, shortly after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, and it was lifted on July 11, 1949. The second ban occurred during the Emergency (1975–1977) and lasted nearly two years. The third ban followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and was lifted within a year. On all three occasions, the bans were imposed and later lifted by Congress-led governments.
16. It is estimated that the RSS helped save hundreds of thousands of lives during Partition by facilitating the safe transit of displaced persons across the Punjab and Bengal borders, organizing around 3,000 relief camps.
17. In 1947, India’s Defence Minister requested assistance from the RSS to rescue 20,000 women in Lahore.
18. RSS members founded the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1949, which has since grown into the world’s largest student organization, with a presence in over 4,500 cities and towns across India.
19. RSS Swayamsevaks played a significant role in the liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese control on August 2, 1954.
20. The RSS was one of the earliest organizations to call for the repeal of Article 370, doing so as early as the 1950s.
21. The RSS played a pivotal role in establishing the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari in 1970, an initiative led by Eknath Ranade, a prominent RSS leader deeply influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings.
22. The RSS, through its initiatives and affiliated organizations, has protected approximately 2.5 million cows from slaughter.
23. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which is part of the Sangh Parivar group led by the RSS, organized the first World Hindu Conference in 1966.
24. The RSS has established a significant network of educational institutions through its educational wing, Vidya Bharati Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan. Vidya Bharati operates over 12,000 schools across India.
25. RSS-affiliated organization Sewa International has established around 200 hospitals to serve various communities across India.
26. The organization runs around 90,000 informal single-teacher schools known as Ekal Vidyalaya, which focus on providing education in rural and tribal areas and have approximately 27 lakh students.
27. Through VHP, the RSS has prevented 6.2 million conversions and facilitated the reconversion of about 8.5 Lakh people.
28. The RSS’s relentless efforts have ensured that around ten states have enacted anti-conversion laws addressing coercion or inducement.
29. In 1952, the RSS established the Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram. Today, it is the largest tribal welfare organization, with a presence in 52,000 villages.
30. Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) is the labour wing of RSS – founded in 1952. With 10 million plus members, it’s the largest trade union in India.
31. Through its social arm, Seva Bharati, the Sangh has established 400 Matri Chaya Centers to care for destitute children, with the goal of transitioning them to independent living.
32. Nearly 3.5 million students receive their education from schools affiliated with the Sangh Parivar, and close to 300,000 needy students are provided with free education.
33. The RSS has spearheaded the cow protection movement since the 1950s. Thanks to their efforts, 20 states in India now have various forms of cow protection laws.
34. The stiffest resistance for the Emergency was from the RSS. Sangh emerged as the rallying point for dissent with its vast network of Shakas. When most political parties were muzzled with authoritarian measures, it was the RSS that kept the flag of democracy flying.
35. The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) is the international wing of the RSS. Founded in 1947 in Kenya, HSS now has a presence in 156 countries, with the goal of strengthening Hinduism by organizing the community.
36. 3000 RSS volunteers participated in the 1963 Republic Day parade following the Sino-Indian war of 1962. This couldn’t have happened without the government’s invitation or concurrence.
37. Samskrita Bharati, a non-profit founded by RSS members, has trained 10 million people to speak Sanskrit and created a pool of 100,000 Sanskrit teachers.
38. The RSS has always taken the lead in disaster relief work. Whether it was the super cyclone in Odisha, the Bhuj earthquake, or the Chennai floods, RSS volunteers are often the first to set up relief camps, provide logistical support to authorities, and distribute food, water, and medical supplies.
39. The Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana is an initiative of the RSS to document history from an Indian nationalist perspective. Among other efforts, ABISY is documenting the history of over 670 districts and chronicling the history of more than 600 tribes in India.
40. The RSS has helped spawn a slew of policy institutes to shape the national discourse. The Deendayal Research Institute, Vivekananda International Foundation, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, and Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal have done remarkable work over the years, which has been utilized in governance at both the state and central levels.
41. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a member of the Sangh Parivar, brought together Hindu saints in 1979 to affirm that untouchability and caste discrimination have no religious sanction in Hindu scriptures. Additionally, in 1983, the VHP established the Samajik Samrasta Manch, a platform for the upliftment of Dalits.
42. The Sangh Parivar was the driving force behind the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement, spearheading the campaign that culminated in the historic construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
43. The renaming movement to reclaim India’s cultural identity from Mughal influences was initiated by the Sangh Parivar. As a result of these efforts, Allahabad became Prayagraj, Faizabad became Ayodhya, and Aurangzeb Lane was renamed Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Road.
44. Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the RSS, aims to promote self-reliance by advocating an India-first approach in economics. The Make-in-India initiative and the Vocal-for-Local war cry stem from the Swadeshi school of thought.
45. Rashtriya Sevika Samiti is the largest women-only national organization and serves as the women’s wing of the RSS. It has 55,000 members and aims to uplift and empower women within the Hindutva framework. The Samiti runs 30 hostels across India, housing 6,000 girls.
46. Rashtriya Sikh Sangat was an organization affiliated with the RSS, aimed at fostering unity between Hindus and Sikhs, but it does not exist anymore.
47. The RSS plans to establish five world-class universities in the coming years. The process has already begun with Chanakya University, a 116-acre campus near Bangalore International Airport. The university offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs in cutting-edge fields.
48. For decades, the RSS has championed the cause of a Uniform Civil Code. Notably, in February 2024, the state of Uttarakhand passed the Uniform Civil Code of Uttarakhand, 2024—a true milestone for the movement.
49. Seeded by the RSS, the BJP has emerged as the largest political party in the world, with about 180 million members.
50. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi were RSS pracharaks (propagator of ideology) who became India’s Prime Ministers.
Anantha Narayan is an entrepreneur and the son of former BJP National President K. Jana Krishnamurthy. He was an RSS Swayamsevak during his college days at Institute of Technology – Banaras Hindu University (aka IIT Varanasi).
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