RSS launches US tour to rebut paramilitary label
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- RSS organized foreign visits to the United States, Germany and Britain to counter the perception that it is a paramilitary outfit involved in attacks on minority communities.
- USCIRF issued a November report accusing the RSS of acts of extreme violence and intolerance against members of minority groups for decades.
- Dattatreya Hosabale met academics, policymakers and business leaders in the United States, Germany and Britain, saying the trips aim to dispel certain misgivings and misconceptions about the RSS.
- RSS describes itself as a Hindu‑centric civilisational, cultural movement whose goal is to carry the nation to the pinnacle of glory and protect the religion.
- RSS has been banned several times since its 1925 founding, including after a former member assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.
- Narendra Modi fulfilled two RSS‑linked agenda items: building a Ram temple on the site of a mosque razed in 1992 and revoking Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
Why it matters: The outreach gives the RSS a platform to directly address foreign policymakers, academics and business leaders, allowing it to contest the U.S. commission’s allegations and present its self‑characterisation, while opposition leaders continue to accuse the group of majoritarianism. The effort also shows the BJP’s willingness to defend its ideological roots abroad, influencing diplomatic and commercial perceptions of India.
