The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) will vehemently protest against being linked to India’s fascist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) when its ties are exposed (especially in front of local governments in the US). However, some basic research reveals a radically different story.
Let’s take a look at what mainstream Indian media says.
India’s Zee News — an outlet actually owned by a former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member — calls the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) the “overseas unit” of the RSS.
The Hindustan Times calls it “an organization with close links to the RSS” that “works in close coordination with RSS leaders.” The Deccan Herald calls it the “overseas offshoot” of the RSS. India’s News 18 describes it as the RSS’s “allied organization.”
India’s ThePrint says it is an “international offshoot” of the RSS. The Hindu reports that “RSS units outside India are known as the” HSS. NDTV describes it as the RSS’s “foreign wing.”
How about Indian-American journalists?
Nitish Pahwa of Slate describes the HSS as the RSS’s “international affiliate” which was established by RSS members in order to work “towards the RSS’s goals.” Rashmee Kumar of The Intercept says it is “the international branch of the RSS” which operates “under the RSS umbrella.”
Shall we look to American academics?
American political scientist Dr. Walter K. Andersen (who is a pro-RSS researcher) and his co-author, Shridhar Damle (who is, or at least was, head of the HSS’s Chicago chapter) call the HSS....
.... “the overseas counterpart of the RSS” which, they say, sends many of its officers to attend RSS-run training camps at the RSS’s headquarters in India.
Indian-American sociologist Dr. Prema Kurien calls HSS-USA “an organization parallel to the RSS” which she further describes as “the American branch of the RSS.” Dr. Audrey Truschke, an historian of South Asia, says: “The RSS exists overseas as the HSS, including in America.”
As Rajiv Malhotra — yet another pro-RSS writer — states: “HSS is RSS' foreign name. This is important for those unfamiliar with RSS.”
In fact, even the HSS-USA’s own website admits it is “inspired by” the RSS.
In fact, even the HSS-USA’s own website admits it is “inspired by” the RSS.
So why won’t the HSS admit this to you? Well, as political scientist Dr. Christophe Jaffrelot explains, the HSS is “the RSS operated under... a different name” but it will “strive to mask the links they have with the RSS to avoid being overtly stigmatized.”
The HSS is the international wing of the RSS. There is no denying that the two groups are connected. So what is the RSS and why would the HSS be “stigmatized” if its links to that organization were known?
According to Dr. Eviane Leidig, an expert on extremism, the RSS is a “paramilitary Hindu nationalist organisation... which advocates for an ethno- nationalist Hindu state.”
Dr. Martha Nussbaum, a political philosopher, says that the RSS is “the militant social organization that is the heart of the Hindu right.”
Historian Dr. Michele Louro explains that the RSS is not only “the largest all- volunteer paramilitary organization” but also that it was “modeled after fascist groups in Europe.”
This view is upheld by many Indian-origin scholars as well.
For instance, historian AG Noorani describes the RSS as a “menace to India,” warning that it is an “undemocratic” organization which has a “fascist leadership principle” and embraces “hate ideology.”
Civil rights activist Dr. Anand Teltumbde explains that the RSS believes in a “fascist paradigm” and “is clearly patterned on the fascist militia[s]” of 20th-century Europe.
Sociologist Dr. Chetan Bhatt suggests that it is accurate to characterize the RSS as “fascist” in “ideological, aesthetic, social movement, and organizational terms” and describes it as India’s version of “authoritarian, xenophobic, and majoritarian religious nationalism.”
Meanwhile, what about human rights bodies?
Amnesty International calls the RSS a “right-wing” group which incites people to violence. Human Rights Watch says that the RSS is a “militant” group which is “directly responsible” for violence against Indian minorities.
US Commission for Int'l Religious Freedom explains that not only does RSS “aggressively” press its view that non-Hindus are “foreign to India,” but that it has also “perpetrated numerous incidents of intimidation, harassment, & violence against religious minority communities.”
So, if the HSS is actually linked to the RSS, do you think that might be a problem?
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