Political Punchline

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was founded on 27 September 1925 in Nagpur, Maharashtra, led by Dr Keshav Bilaram Hedgewar, who also became the first  Sarsanghchalak  (Chief) of the organisation. This year’s foundation day marks the hundred years of its service. The RSS, with its political offshoot, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is disseminating policies in the BJP-ruled states of the country in line with its Hindutva ideology. This Hindu ethno-nationalist political ideology has taken centre stage in India’s contemporary politics.     The RSS has eleven  Kshetras  (regions) where all its administrative works are divided. Their ever-expanding affiliated organisations, generally referred to as the  Sangh Parivar , working in different fields like trade, education, religion, student welfare, and health services, amongst others, are evolving in line with changing contours of the modern society to achieve organisational accommodation. It ha...