From the Shadows to Power: The Rise and Influence of the RSS in India

By KJ Bhullar (based on the New York Times investigation)

In 2025, as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) marked its 100th anniversary, The New York Times published a sweeping investigation titled “From the Shadows to Power: How the Hindu Right Reshaped India.” The report traced the evolution of the RSS from a fringe cultural group to a dominant force that shapes Indian political and social life, influencing institutions, public discourse, and the ruling party itself.

Origins and Early History

Founded in 1925 by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in Nagpur, the RSS began as a volunteer organisation advocating for a revival of Hindu identity after centuries of foreign domination and colonial rule. Early leaders like M.S. Golwalkar articulated a vision of a “Hindu nation” based on cultural unity, drawing on nationalist ideas circulating globally in the 1930s and 1940s. Golwalkar’s writings controversially interpreted those inspirations in a way that excluded minorities from full participation in the nation’s identity.

The organisation remained marginal and at times banned - particularly after a former member assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in 1948 - but persisted in building grassroots networks through its local shakhas (weekly community gatherings). These became the foundational units through which the RSS expanded across India.

Network, Expansion, and Institutional Reach

Over the decades, the RSS developed a vast ecosystem of affiliated bodies - the Sangh Parivar -including student unions, labour groups, professional associations, farmers’ organisations and charitable outfits. Researchers from Sciences Po in Paris have identified thousands of organisations with traceable ties to the RSS, forming a tightly connected network that spans Indian society. Through these channels, the group’s ideology and personnel have permeated institutions ranging from media and academia to politics and bureaucracy.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was shaped by the RSS since his youth and later deputised to its political wing, this influence has intensified. Modi has publicly celebrated the organisation’s discipline and social service ethos - calling it a “giant river” that flows through Indian life - while the RSS’s reach into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) helps steer candidate selection, policy priorities, and national discourse.

Political Milestones and Cultural Shifts

Key historical moments boosted the RSS’s prominence. The Emergency period of 1975–77, when Indira Gandhi’s government cracked down on political groups including the RSS, generated widespread sympathy for the organisation. Later, the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, carried out by activists including RSS affiliates, became a flashpoint in modern Indian politics, consolidating Hindu nationalist sentiment and reshaping electoral landscapes.

More recently, the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, completed in 2024 on the site of the demolished mosque, symbolised the realisation of a longstanding goal for many within the Hindu right. The Supreme Court’s ruling enabling the temple’s construction was interpreted in the NYT report as further evidence of the RSS’s deep influence on state structures.

Deepening Influence and Controversies

According to the NYT investigation, the RSS’s networks extend into government, courts, police forces, academia, and media - placing loyalists in key roles, shaping narratives, and steering policies. Critics cited in the report argue this amounts to institutional co-option, weakening secular checks and balances and embedding Hindu nationalism at every level.

The report also highlighted episodes of communal tension and violence linked to activists inspired or mobilised through RSS-affiliated groups. Instances of vigilantism - such as lynchings over alleged beef consumption, boycotts of Muslim businesses, attacks on churches, and pressure on interfaith couples - were cited as examples of how ideology can translate into social conflict.

Leadership and Public Messaging

Contemporary RSS leadership, including chief Mohan Bhagwat, has adopted more nuanced public rhetoric - advocating social unity, urging restraint against excesses, and even calling for reduction of caste-based discrimination. Yet the NYT notes a tension between public statements and grassroots realities, where affiliates sometimes pursue more aggressive agendas that deepen religious divides.

Bhagwat’s assertion that the vision of a “Hindu rashtra” is cultural rather than religious - and that everyone in India should be inherently considered part of its civilisation - reflects this complex messaging. At the same time, statements on demographic competition and vigilance by society’s “good people” have raised concerns among commentators about where lines are drawn.

Reactions and Debate

The NYT article has sparked sharp reactions in India. Supporters of the RSS argue the reportage reflects ideological bias and misrepresents a century-old volunteer organisation as a secretive, far-right force - a framing they say misunderstands Indian social and political contexts and reduces the organisation’s civic and cultural work to sinister motives. Critics of the article contend that Western media often apply binary Western political labels that don’t neatly fit Indian realities.

Meanwhile, political debates have intensified domestically, with leaders across the spectrum weighing in on the organisation’s role in Indian society and governance.

Conclusion

The New York Times investigation into the RSS portrays a transformation from a marginal cultural group to a central power broker in India’s political landscape. Whether seen as an embodiment of grassroots cultural revival or as an entrenched ideological apparatus, there is no doubt the organisation’s century-long evolution has profoundly shaped modern India’s political discourse and institutional realities.