Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has said that the organisation welcomes people from all religions to its shakhas (branches), but they must come as “sons of Bharat Mata” and members of the “Hindu society.”
Speaking during his lecture series titled “New Horizons” in Bengaluru, Bhagwat was responding to a question about whether Muslims are allowed in the RSS. He explained, “No Brahmin is allowed in Sangh, no other caste is allowed, no Muslim is allowed, no Christian is allowed, only Hindus are allowed. People of different denominations, Muslims, Christians of any denomination, can come to the Sangh, but must keep their separateness out. Your speciality is welcome, but when you come inside the shakha, you come as a son of Bharat Mata, a member of the Hindu society.”
He added, “Muslims come to shakha, Christians come to shakha, as do people from all other castes within the Hindu society. But we don’t count or ask who they are. We are all sons of Bharat Mata. That is how the Sangh works.”
Bhagwat also addressed the long-standing question of why the RSS is not registered as an organisation, saying, “Many things are not registered. Even Hindu dharma is not registered.” Referring to the times the RSS was banned, he said, “If we were not there, whom did they ban? The government has recognised us by banning us three times.”
He added that the organisation was founded in 1925, and registering it under the British government “would not have made sense.” After Independence, he said, registration was never made compulsory. Bhagwat also claimed that the Income Tax Department and courts have noted that the RSS is a ‘body of individuals’, and therefore exempted it from taxes.
Defending the Sangh’s role in society, Bhagwat said the RSS’s goal is to “organise Hindu society not for power, but for the glory of the nation.” He argued that Hindus are responsible for the country’s future and reiterated the RSS’s belief that all Indians, including Muslims and Christians, share the same ancestry and culture. “There is no Ahindu in India,” he said. “Everyone here is part of the same civilisation. The core culture of the country is Hindu.”
Calling Sanatan Dharma the foundation of the Hindu Rashtra, Bhagwat said, “The progress of Sanatan Dharma is the progress of Bharat.”
Reflecting on the organisation’s history, he said, “RSS faced bans, criticism, even the killing of swayamsevaks. Yet, the Sangh continues to grow because swayamsevaks give their all without expecting anything in return.”
He concluded by saying that the Sangh is not against anyone. “It is not a reactionary body. It is an organisation of the society, not in the society. We want to organise all 142 crore people of this country, from every denomination. The entire Hindu society must stand united.”
