Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Hindi: राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ, English: National Volunteers' Organisation), also known as the Sangh or the RSS, is a Hindu nationalist organization in India. It was founded in 1925 by Dr.K.B. Hedgewar. The RSS is active throughout India and abroad as the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh.

History:

In 1925, Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, a Nagpur doctor influenced by recent Hindu-Muslim riots in his town, formed the Rashtriya Swayemsevak Sangh aiming to protect Hindus by organizing togetherHedgewar proposed the Hindu masses must be united to combat the challenges facing them and protect the freedom and diversity of Indian civilization. In the 1940s the development of the RSS was fueled by a desire of some Hindus to organize themselves in reaction to the growing mobilization, sometimes in paramilitary form, of Muslim separatist movements. The response was strongest in areas where the Hindus were in the minority. RSS benefited from support from local community leaders. The "pracharaks" or "full-time workers", who were dispatched on the recommendation of such patrons, gathered support and coordinated their efforts from their headquarters in Nagpur. During the Indian independence movement, the RSS campaigned alongside the Indian National Congress for national independence at first keeping its organization separate and core mission different. However when some Congress leaders tried to subsume RSS into the Congress and urged the RSS leaders to dismantle the organization, they slowly diverged away from the Congress.