‘RSS jeopardising education, judiciary in India’

Islamabad: Apart from political engineering, the Rashtriya Sewak Sangh (RSS) in India has now gained a considerable influence on education and the judiciary having serious implications for Indian scholarship on secularism and the justice system, said Dr Saif-ur-Rehman Malik, director, India Study Center at Institute of Strategic Studies.

Addressing a webinar organised by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS), Dr Malik said that since its inception in 1925, RSS is promoting the ‘Hindu First Ideology’ all over India. After Modi’s coming into power, the RSS continued to create a group of RSS loyalists for greater control on political and domestic affairs said, Dr Malik.

While speaking to the occasion, Dr Mujeeb Afzal, from School of Politics and International Relations, QAU, said that RSS is essentially striving to create a ‘hierarchal society’ in India where the Hindu ethos have complete supremacy. The identity of other sects is strictly subordinate with the acceptance of Hindu primacy, he added. By doing this, Dr. Mujeeb said that the RSS is following the European idea of romantic nationalism by creating Right-wing paramilitary groups (the Shakha system) purposely to promote the Hindu ideology. He continued that virtually now the RSS has an army of Hindu nationalists working to rekindle Hindu thoughts in the society and become a model of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ to be emulated by all Indians. Arish U Khan from IRS said that the RSS today has greater influence in Indian domestic as well as foreign policy affairs having far-reaching consequences not only for India itself but for the neighboring countries including Pakistan. He called for greater understandings of RSS, its ideology, and approach to deal with the regional repercussions.