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A 100-year journey: Shakhas & Swayamsevaks - surprising facts about the RSS

Last updated on - Oct 1, 2025, 23:33 IST
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1/9

Centenary celebration in 2025

Celebrating 100 years, India issued a commemorative stamp and coin; Shankar Mahadevan composed new Sangh Geets — blending tradition and modernity.

2/9

RSS founded on symbolic Vijayadashami, 1925

RSS was founded on the Hindu festival Vijayadashami, chosen for its symbolism of victory over evil, starting from just 20 passionate volunteers in Nagpur. (File photo- ANI)

3/9

Women’s wing – Rashtra Sevika Samiti’s

The women’s counterpart empowers thousands of women in social work and leadership, expanding the movement’s footprint in family and society.

4/9

Largest civil volunteer organization

Today, RSS manages daily over 50,000 shakhas with millions of active swayamsevaks engaging in physical, social, and cultural activities.

5/9

RSS’s role during partition refugee relief

During the 1947 Partition, RSS volunteers ran refugee camps, organized food and medicine distribution, and protected displaced families amid communal violence.

6/9

Supporting India’s frontlines in 1962

During the 1962 war, RSS volunteers helped the Indian military by managing traffic and logistics when regular forces were stretched thin.

7/9

Social service – Blood donation drives, sanitation & more

RSS engages in large-scale social service through health camps, COVID-19 relief, sanitation drives, and rural development programs.

8/9

Key leader with academic backgrounds

Former RSS chief Rajju Bhaiya was a physics professor acclaimed by Nobel laureate C.V. Raman, highlighting RSS’s connection to intellectual traditions.

9/9

Educational wing – Vidya Bharati Schools across India

RSS’s educational wing Vidya Bharati manages nearly 40,000 schools educating over 4 million students with a mix of traditional and modern curriculum.

Top Comment
N
No more BS
215 days ago
RSS is being projected as a patriotic org, which it appears to be. But is it patriotic to India or the Hindutva project of a Hindu Rashtra? If you want to turn india into a banana republic of Hindu rashtra, then you can't claim to be patriotic to India.
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Copyright © May 5, 2026, 11.14PM IST Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service