Bharatvaarta Inside the RSS: How the Sangh Shapes Policy & Politics in Modern India | Sachin Nandha
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Dec 20, 2025 In a thought-provoking discussion, Sachin Nandha, an author and researcher focused on the RSS, explores its role as a powerful grassroots movement shaping modern India. He delves into the RSS's unique structure, highlighting how the shakha creates active citizens rather than merely followers. Nandha explains the psychological roots that unify its members, the tension between the Rashtra (people) and the Raja (state), and how the RSS indirectly influences political policies. Through his insights, he demystifies a movement often misunderstood in contemporary discourse.
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Shakha Creates Citizens Not Cadres
- The shakha functions as the RSS's primary organizing unit that creates citizens, not cadres.
- It instills rootedness and desh bhakti which then spreads into a diffuse national movement.
Rootedness Beats Ideology
- Hedgivar prioritized 'rootedness' over ideology to rebuild social cohesion.
- Rootedness lets Swayam Sevaks instantly recognize each other across language, caste, and class.
Seva Rebuilds Social Capital
- The RSS diagnoses India's ailment as fragmentation of social capital across caste, language and creed.
- Its remedy is building citizens who practice seva and locally solve social problems.
