This (land) was always a Hindu rashtra, is so today, and will forever remain a Hindu rashtra, (said K.B. Hedgewar who) died in 1940. But his vision and line of action shaped a massive movement whose 'power house' is the RSS, which he founded on Vijayadashmi day in 1925 ... in Nagpur.
The RSS, which now has its shakhas (training centres) at 30,000 places all over the country, will complete 75 years on October 7, 2000. Before that the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the supreme national representative council, will meet in Nagpur in the second week of March to elect a new general secretary in place of H.V. Seshadri, who is expected to succeed ... sarsanghachalak Rajendra Singh. Besides the Bangalore-based Seshadri, another south Indian, joint general secretary K.S. Sudarshan, is in the race for the top post ... The top leaders of the RSS and its parivar (family) are in the 70-plus category, and everyone feels the need for infusing young blood ...
The post of sarsanghachalak, like that of the Sankaracharya or the Pope, is for life. The chief names his successor at a time: he feels appropriate ... The all-important question is: will Rajendra Singh name Seshadri, who has had three three-year terms as general secretary, or choose a younger man? .
... The promised Hindu rashtra is nowhere in sight except in Gujarat where the BJP enjoys absolute power. Clearly, the RSS is undergoing changes while the BJP is in power ... The younger swayamsevaks spend more time hobnobbing with politicians than at the shakhas.
The RSS (may be) in a hurry to reach the 'man-moulding' target set by Hedgewar. The founder longed to see during his life time at least 3 per cent of the urban population and 1 per cent of the rural masses turn swayamsevaks. The RSS is today in a better position to achieve the target since it is no more viewed as an organisation of the upper castes.
The political organisations of the RSS have grown phenomenally over the past decade. Besides, the RSS has entered service sectors. The Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, for instance, has established 6,500 centres in 160 of the 245 tribal districts in the country, and Vidya Bharati runs 6,000 schools and colleges. Seva Vasti projects for backward caste localities exceed 20,000. Swayamsevaks have been going abroad as missionaries of Hindutva, and the RSS Vishwa Vibhag brings out Samvad, a fortnightly circulated in 90 countries.
More than any other time in its history, the Sangh leaders are hopeful of achieving the goal of a 'resurgent and reorganised Bharat'. But RSS critics view this as a sign of impatience caused by the realisation that its brand of social engineering has hit a plateau with the BJP stuck at 182 seats in the Lok Sabha. But as Seshadri states in his recent compilation, RSS: The fountainhead of national renaissance, " ... Nothing, nothing can stop its forward march." Its next aggressive step, however, is a secret ... (Source: The Week, 20 February, 2000)
