Opinion Why the RSS’s past and present can’t be whitewashed
Its claims of service collapse in face of its own record. Its fear of social change mirrors anxieties of upper castes threatened by modernity
For a century, the RSS has survived not by courage but by compromise. During the freedom movement, it avoided confrontation with the British. After Gandhi’s assassination, it parlayed with sections of the Congress to lift the ban imposed on it. 
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The Communist Party of India and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were founded in 1925 — one in Kanpur, the other in Nagpur. But they could not be further apart in purpose, philosophy, and historical role. The CPI emerged from the anti-colonial struggle — it represented the awakening of India’s working class and peasantry, across religion, caste, and region against imperialism and oppression. It was an organic part of the freedom movement, demanding not merely political independence but social and economic transformation. The RSS, in contrast, stayed aloof from the freedom struggle. The organisation’s founder, K B Hedgewar, and later its ideologue, M S Golwalkar, dismissed the independence movement as “political”. Instead, it focused on building a rashtra rooted in religious exclusivity and rigid social hierarchy. While Communists were mobilising people for freedom, and many were jailed and martyred, the RSS was busy conducting drills in secrecy, reinforcing caste distinctions, and pledging loyalty to the colonial administration.
The CPI’s cadres were part of every major national upsurge — from the 1930s workers’ strikes to the Telangana and Tebhaga struggles, from the Punnapra-Vayalar uprising to the student movements of the 1940s. Its vision extended beyond mere transfer of power; it fought for the end of exploitation and inequality. The RSS, on the other hand, was absent from every defining moment of India’s liberation and disdainful of the idea of a plural, democratic India. Instead, the Sangh saw India’s diversity not as a strength but as a weakness. Its obsession with religious identity suited the colonial strategy of divide and rule, and its fear of social change mirrored the anxieties of the upper castes threatened by modernity, equality, and social justice.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the RSS centenary celebrations was an exercise in historical reinvention. He credited the RSS with “patriotism and service,” claiming that swayamsevaks worked tirelessly during Partition to help refugees. The truth, however, is that the RSS’s propaganda and ideology of hatred were among the sparks that ignited the communal inferno of 1947, especially in Punjab and Jammu. The organisation’s literature and speeches of that time described Muslims as traitors, creating an atmosphere of suspicion and vengeance. To recast this as humanitarian service is to whitewash the role of communal mobilisation in one of the greatest tragedies of the Subcontinent. Modi also repeated another longstanding falsehood: That the RSS was invited by Jawaharlal Nehru to participate in the 1963 Republic Day parade in recognition of its services during the China war. The 1963 parade included MPs, schoolchildren, volunteer groups and trade unions. It’s possible that RSS cadre joined the parade as part of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, an RSS-affiliated organisation; however, the RSS wasn’t “invited”.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s centenary address followed the same pattern of half-truths. He spoke of “swadeshi,” “self-reliance”, and “unity”, but his vision of unity is built upon exclusion. This is the same Bhagwat who had called for a review of reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes. For all its talk of national unity, the RSS remains a staunch defender of hierarchy — between castes, men and women, and between the privileged and the powerless. Its women’s wing, the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, operates under the paternal authority of the male-led organisation. For the RSS, “unity” means everyone accepting the supremacy of the upper-caste Hindu male.
Bhagwat’s claim that the RSS has worked for harmony and service collapses before its own record. Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts, one of the Sangh’s foundational texts, identified three internal enemies of the nation — Muslims, Christians, and Communists. The RSS has never wavered from this line — it continues to find “enemies within” to rally its base. Bhagwat’s invocation of swadeshi and nationalism rings hollow when the economic policies of the government it guides have handed over national assets to corporate monopolies and hollowed out small industries and agriculture. The Sangh’s idea of “self-reliance” translates into submission to crony capitalism; its “cultural nationalism” translates into communal polarisation.
For a century, the RSS has survived not by courage but by compromise. During the freedom movement, it avoided confrontation with the British. After Gandhi’s assassination, it parlayed with sections of the Congress to lift the ban imposed on it. During the Emergency, the same pattern was repeated. RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras wrote to the government offering cooperation if the ban on the organisation was removed.
The Communists, in contrast, fought for workers’ rights, land reforms, education, and healthcare, helping to shape modern India’s progressive legislation — the nationalisation of banks and coal, tenancy reforms, labour protections, and public health initiatives. The CPI and other Left forces have been the conscience of the Republic, defending secularism, democracy, and social justice against all assaults. They stood firmly by the nation in every war imposed upon it — most notably in 1971, when India helped liberate Bangladesh. The Communists supported the abolition of privy purses, the deepening of federalism, and the expansion of democratic rights. They fought separatist forces in Punjab and the Northeast, losing over 300 comrades to Khalistani terrorism, and consistently worked to preserve communal harmony.
The RSS stands opposed to the ideals of equality upheld by Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar. Modi and Bhagwat’s speeches at the RSS centenary were not reflections on a century of service but attempts to rewrite history and legitimise an ideology that has always thrived on division and deceit.
A hundred years on, it is clear who has truly served the nation’s soul — not those who divided it, but those who keep it united in the name of justice.
The writer is general secretary, Communist Party of India
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