The Steady Growth Of RSS Explained

Whether the BJP manages to oust the Left remains to be seen, it has however to be admitted that their parent organization, the RSS, has inconspicuously registered phenomenal growth in the hills through maintenance of peopleto-people connect and grassroots activism.

- Shilajit Kar Bhowmick

Elections in Tripura are scheduled to be held on February 18th, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is desperate to oust the Left Front from one of its last frontiers. To this end, the party wants to win over the hills, for like in Manipur, the hilly interiors of Tripura are the key to victory in Tripura. And, therefore, the BJP characteristically wants to ride piggyback over its ally, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Not a Promising Beginning

The RSS’s Tripura chapter did not begin on a promising note. On the fateful day of 6th August 1999, four RSS Pracharaks were kidnapped by the now outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) from Kanchanchhera in Dhalai district. They were: Shyamal Sengupta (RSS East Zone Secretary), Dinen De (RSS Northeast Secretary) and two local pracharaks namely Sudhamay Dhar and Subhankar Chakraborty. They were taken captive in the NLFT’s sanctuary in Chittagong Hill Tracts.

The raison d’être of the abduction was a demand by the NLFT to disband all of the six Tripura State Rifles (TSR) battalions. On 11th August, the NLFT’s Secretary-General T Mawlong owned his outfit’s responsibility for the abductions. He issued a dire threat if the six TSR battalions were not disbanded. L K Advani, the then Indian Home Minister, held a meeting at Agartala with Central and State government officials along with CM Manik Sarkar to reflect upon this menace. In the long run, the NLFT’s demands were paid no heed. And, as a consequence, the abducted RSS pracharaks were tortured to death.

Phenomenal Growth Over the Years