RSS Address by Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat during Day 2 of ‘100 Years of Sangh Journey New Horizons’ lecture in Bengaluru on November 9, 2025. | Photo credit: ANI
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat clarified and said the RSS does not require registration as it is “recognised as a group of individuals”.
Mr. Bhagwat was responding to repeated queries about the RSS not being registered as discussed during an interaction in Bengaluru on Sunday (November 9, 2025).
“RSS was founded in 1925. Were we supposed to register with the British? After independence, the government did not make registration compulsory. But we are recognized. The Indian government has banned us three times. What has it banned if we are not recognized? The courts have summoned us as a group of natural persons. The income tax department has exempted us from income tax,” he said.
Soon after, Priyank Kharge, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Karnataka, who had questioned the RSS as to why it was not registered, responded on social media that the non-registration of the RSS highlighted a fundamental issue of transparency and accountability.
“When every religious or charitable institution in India is required to maintain financial transparency, what justifies the absence of similar accountability mechanisms for the RSS?” he asked.
Forget caste
In an interaction, when asked about the problems with the caste system, Mr. Bhagwat said that there is no caste system but only caste confusion for concessions and elections. “We have to forget caste, which can be done at the individual level as well,” he said. However, he said reservations must continue until full equality is achieved.
When asked if Muslims and Christians could join the RSS, he said they were welcome but on one condition: that they should identify themselves as children of Bharat Mata as part of the larger Hindu society and keep their separateness apart. “Like many in what is considered Hindu society, Muslims and Christians also come to shaka, but we don’t count them. We don’t even ask the caste of any of our members. We are all Hindus,” he said.
Denying that the RSS was a political organisation, Mr Bhagwat said the RSS was never involved in politics. “We support the right policy. We have no affinity to any party. We support the party that implements the policy that we believe is right for the country,” he declared.
Published – 9 Nov 2025 20:21 IST
