A year before West Bengal polls, the significance of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s 10-day visit to the state

After the Purba Bardhaman district administration initially denied permission for the RSS rally, citing the ongoing West Bengal Board of Secondary Education examinations, the RSS had approached the Calcutta High Court, which on Friday overturned the administration’s denial.

“Since it is Sunday and only an hour-and-15-minute programme, the Calcutta High Court does not think anyone will have difficulty in that sense,” Justice Amrita Sinha observed.

Criticising the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led Bengal government, general secretary of the RSS’s state unit Jishnu Basu said, “Why should we have to knock on the court’s door to organise a meeting where (Bhagwat) will speak? Day by day, the administration in Bengal is weakening. It is under political pressure. It is creating unnecessary roadblocks for an organisation like us. We (Bengal) are a border state and the administration should look into law and order and the growing tension in bordering areas.”

Although the Sangh functionaries called Bhagwat’s visit “routine”, it holds significance given the turmoil in the neighbouring country Bangladesh and rising tensions along the border as the RSS looks to expand its presence in the state. Bengal is also due for the Assembly elections in March-April 2026.

“In this centenary year (of the RSS), we are propagating five points including environment protection, samajik samarshata (abolition of caste system), stress on sha bhasha, sha utpadan sha sanskriti (own language, production and culture), parivar prabadhan (re-establishing traditional Hindu family), and nagarik kartavya (civic sense). He (Bhagwat) is here to propagate these issues in Bengal,” Basu said.

“It has been decided that the organisation will be consolidated at the gram panchayat level in rural areas and ward level in urban areas. The gram panchayats will be the base of our social activities. We will work for the next few years in this direction. We will try to unify the Sangh and society,” Biplab Roy, the RSS publicity in-charge in Bengal, told The Indian Express.

After former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted from power last August, the arrest of a Hindu monk followed by alleged attacks on minorities in that country led to protests and marches in Bengal led by the RSS and its affiliates.

Last October, while referring to Hindus in Bangladesh during his annual Vijayadashami speech at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, Bhagwat said, “Being unorganised and weak is like inviting atrocities by the wicked. Hindus need to be united.”

On February 8, Bhagwat had met the parents of the junior doctor who was raped and murdered in the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last August.

Later, while speaking to the media, the father of the victim said, “Mohan Bhagwat said he is with us in our fight for justice. We gave him a letter detailing the incident and our standpoint. He said he will do everything to ensure we get justice. He even invited us to have lunch with him.”

Last October, Bhagwat had attacked the TMC government over the R G Kar outrage, alleging that attempts were made to protect criminals in the case.

During his 10-day trip, Bhagwat held closed-door meetings with the Sangh functionaries from three prants (regions) in the state – Uttar, Dakshin and Madhya. He also met senior kshetra (state-level) functionaries from Bengal, Bihar, Sikkim, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

On Friday, Bhagwat inaugurated a new Madhya Prant office at Ullash in Bardhaman town. On Saturday, he visited a shakha in Purba Bardhaman district.

After arriving in Kolkata on February 6 at night, Bhagwat stayed at Keshav Bhawan, the Sangh’s regional headquarters in the city, from February 7 to 10 to meet the RSS workers.

On February 11-12, the RSS chief held a meeting of eight top Sangh functionaries, including its national general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, at Akhil Bharatiya Toli Baithak in Kolkata.