RSS centenary: A century of cultural nationalism and selfless service

Founded in 1925 by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in Nagpur witha few dedicated youths, the RSS emerged with the vision of revitalizing Bharat’s cultural identity and fostering a strong sense of national unity rooted in ancient civilizational values.

- PROF. RAGHAVENDRA P. TIWARI

Under colonial rule, Bharat was increasingly becoming fragmented, weakened, and susceptible to internal discord and external aggression, Dr. Hedgewar felt urgent need to awaken Hindu society. He genuinely believed that national resurgence required not merely political freedom buta long-term cultural and societal transformation. Guided by this conviction, the RSS committed itself to nation-building through social reforms, character building, and cultural cohesion. In this process, the RSS inter-nalised a disciplined, apolitical structure centred around daily shakbas that nurtured physical fitness, moral integrity, a spirit of selfless service, and patriotic consciousness.

BROADER HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES

The establishment of the RSS must be understood against the backdrop of early 20th-century Bharat, marked by colonial domination, escalating communal tensions, deep cultural anxieties resulting into growing national awakening. After World War-I, nationalist and identity-based movements were gaining momentum across the globe, with colonized societies increasingly turning to their indigenous cultural roots as a means of resistance and self-assertion.

The ideological roots of RSS centred around nationalist thinkers like Swami Vivekananda, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who emphasized the revival of Bharatiya cultural, spiritual, and civilizational strength as essential to Bharat’s resurgence. Swatantryaveer Savarkar’s seminal work of 1923, Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?, articulated the concept of