For most of the people in the world, RSS may mean Rich Site Summary. It is a concept related to all things Internet. Marketers love it and use RSS feeds all the time. However, the RSS we wanted to talk about today is different from this popular concept. We want to give you a brief rundown of a Hindu ultra-nationalist organization called Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
What Is Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)?
RSS was established in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1889–1940) in Maharashtra, India. He was a physician by profession. He formed the nationalist organization to make India a Hindu state and force non-Hindus (especially Muslims) accept the Hindu religion again if they wanted to live in India.
The founder of the organization Hedgewar was influenced by the writings of a Hindu nationalist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The main objective of his writings was to make India a Hindu nation.
Hedgewar established the RSS to protect Hindu cultural and religious interests. Upon Hedgewar’s death, the leadership of the group was passed on to Madhava Sadashiv Golwalkar and later to Madhhukar Dattatray Deoras.
The RSS strongly advocates a Hindu nationalistic agenda dominated by the concept of Hindutva or Hindu-ness.