RSS at 100 stands tall but is shadowed by a fraught past and fractious present https://thefederal.com/category/opinion/rss-centenary-mohan-bhagwat-najeev-jung-opinion-219376 Najeeb Jung &Amogh Dev Rai 6 Dec 2025 The Federal
Founded in 1925 by KB Hedgewar in Nagpur, the RSS emerged from a sense of Hindu social vulnerability in the light of the Khilafat movement. Hedgewar’s diagnosis was less political than civilisational:
Under MS Golwalkar, who led the Sangh from 1940 to 1973, the movement acquired a more defined ideological frame. He articulated the concept of a Hindu Rashtra
Madhukar ‘Balasaheb’ Deoras, who succeeded Golwalkar in 1973 understood that to remain socially relevant, the RSS needed to expand beyond its insular, caste-homogeneous roots and engage with the institutions of a democratic polity.
Under Mohan Bhagwat, who became Sarsanghchalak in 2009, the RSS has adopted a more reflective tone, He has engaged in dialogue with Muslim groups, distanced the RSS from earlier exclusionary theories, , and encouraged debates on caste inequality.
Today, in the BJP-governed states, there is repeated bulldozing of Muslim homes, ill-treatment of Christians, calls of lynchings and hate speeches or boycotting minority businesses.
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