Revision as of 17:47, 25 October 2015

2010-15: Upward growth

The Times of India, Aug 16 2015

Anahita Mukherji

Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh is on a roll: No. of shakhas up 61% in 5 yrs

Kerala, which was never had a BJP govt, leads list

A bunch of lively schoolboys form a circle around an authoritative 12year-old in khaki shorts and a superman T-shirt at a Navi Mumbai maidan on a weekday night. At first glance, they look merely like children at play . But as the boy leading the group conducts a series of activities, from games and exercises to prayers and a session of marching involving bringing one's right hand to one's chest, it gradually becomes evident that this is an Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh shakha in progress -one of 51,335 shakhas held daily across the country this year.

Shakhas are the smallest units of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh.

While the organization is called `extremist' by its critics, its admirers respond to the taunt by calling it `Hindu nationalist'. But even its detractors agree that the RASHTRIYA SWAYAMSEWAK SANGH organizational network is virtually unparalleled.

While there is no formal membership, an analysis of data on the number of shakhas conducted each year over the last five years shows a 29% increase in daily shakhas, 61% increase in weekly shakhas and 40% growth in monthly shakhas across India from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

The trend is similar in cities like Mumbai, which have seen a 34% increase in the number of daily shakhas.Weekly shakhas have grown by over 70%. The largest increase in shakhas across India over the last five years took place between 2013-14 and 2014-15. Kerala has over 4,500 shakhas -the highest in India -despite never having a BJP government. It's tempting to attribute the nationwide in crease in the number of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh shakhas over the past two years to a change in the Central government. BJP is part of the 38 ideological affiliates of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh that form the Sangh Parivar.

However, Pramod Bapat, media coordinator of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh Konkan division, insists Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh growth has nothing to do with a BJP government at the Centre, adding that the organization has flourished under Congress governments for decades.He gives Kerala's example to drive home his point. Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh is also strong in West Bengal, another state where BJP's presence is marginal.

A law graduate whom TOI met at a shakha conducted under a flyover says he joined Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh a few months ago via their website because he supported their views on Article 370 and Uniform Civil Code, and not because of the BJP government. In recent years, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh shakha strength has in creased as timings are adjusted to suit various age groups -students, working professionals and retired people. As part of its outreach, Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh befriends heads of various communities (for instance, the head of a blacksmith community in an area) and involves them in various social activities, gradually making inroads into the organization.

While senior Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh member Narayan Samant, jailed during the Emergency , says the organization may have grown organically in the past, he believes it will grow a lot more in every sphere of life over the next four years as the government of the day belongs to the same ideology .“We are not against any community . We were not born out of an opposition to anybody. We only want Hindus to unite. If we become strong, opposition to us will reduce. When Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh was formed, Hindus stood divided. Now you will see much greater unity amongst Hindus,“ says Samant.

2015

35% jump in Bihar membership

S S-membership-10102015017035 The Times of India, Oct 10 2015

35% jump in Bihar Rashtriya Swayamsewak SaNGH membership

The Bihar polls seem to have given a boost to interest in the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh in the state with a sharp increase of 35% in online applications during July-September, helping sustain interest in the Sangh that saw an estimated 6 lakh persons below the age of 40 join in the 2014 election year. The Sangh's recruitment has been steadily increasing, with around 5 lakh signing up in 2013, sources said arguing that elections are not necessarily the sole factor for increased interest in the saffron organisation that attracted an average 5,300 online applications monthly in the JanuaryJune period this year. In Bihar, the average on line requests were around 280 amonth in the first six months of 2014, but rose to 353, 423 and 727 in the July-September period. In the same interregnum, the national average rose to 6,083, 6,555 and 8,808 per month respectively . The online applications are a small fraction of the number of persons joining the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh as most do so by simply walking to the nearest shakha. Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh prachar pramukh (head of publicity) Manmohan Vaidya said “The Sangh's appeal among younger persons reflects a growing urge among youth to connect with India's cultural identity and take pride in it. It also shows a desire to serve society.“ Pointing to the online applications from Bihar and an increased presence in shakhas there, Vaidya said “The youth seem to be increasingly fed up with the communal politics of the so-called secular leaders.“ The average per month requests has risen from 1,000 in 2012, 2,500 in 2013 to a high of 7,000 in 2014, when the elec tion and the Modi campaign generated considerable interest in the BJP and the Sangh.

If the numbers of those who join shakhas is taken into account, the Sangh seems to be on a strong footing. Going by the number of new entrants who express a desire to train for Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh work, some 80,000 volunteers in the 13-40 age group participated in training camps in 2013 and the number went up to 1,15,000 in 2014. Sangh leaders estimate that about one in six new recruits opt for the more rigorous “prathamik shiksha varga“ or seven day camps, pointing to around 6 lakh new entrants to the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh in 2014 and about 5 lakh in 2013.