THE RECIPE OF TRUMPING ODDS: THE RSS PLAYBOOK

I have been watching Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), now in its 101st year, for more than 50 years. Today, when its swayamsevaks (volunteers) are in power in Delhi and 14 other state capitals, there’s a curiosity about the secret of its success.

- SHASHI SHEKHAR

People may say Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Assam’s Himant Biswa Sarma aren't from the RSS fold. But it’s true that once you're in BJP, you can't escape RSS ideology.

Not only has the political arm of the RSS, the BJP, returned to power at the Centre for the third time in a row, its ideological roots are deepening, too. The RSS achieved this despite stiff opposition from the Communists, Socialists and the Congress party. It was an ideological war and the RSS top brass knew the path was thorny and dangerous. So, how did they succeed?

I'd like to give examples from different decades of Indian history. In 1969, my father admitted me to Saraswati Shishu Mandir school when he was transferred to Allahabad. The school, close to Lal Girja, was run on the ground floor of a building owned by Rajju Bhaiyya, or Rajendra Singh, who later became RSS sarsanghchalak. I was nine and I remember a class was dedicated to reading books or magazines in the library. I didn’t find any other school where one whole hour was dedicated to read material other than “course”. Physical training was mandatory, too.