Stories
Mahatma Gandhi and RSS: Re-examining a Complex Historical Relationship
M
Moneycontrol•04-09-2026, 10:48
Mahatma Gandhi and RSS: Re-examining a Complex Historical Relationship
- •Mahatma Gandhi praised the RSS's discipline and lack of untouchability during a 1934 visit to their camp in Wardha, Maharashtra, a sentiment reported in his weekly newspaper, Harijan, in 1947.
- •Following Gandhi's assassination in 1948, all RSS shakhas closed for 13 days as a mark of respect, an unprecedented event in the organization's history.
- •The RSS was briefly banned after Gandhi's assassination, but the Kapur Commission, established in 1966, found no evidence of the RSS's involvement in the murder.
- •Author Dr. Walter Anderson compared Gandhi and RSS ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya, noting similarities in their roles as organizers, charismatic figures, and their shared emphasis on Swaraj, Swadeshi, and suspicion of political power.
- •Both Gandhi and Upadhyaya believed that the character of a nation's citizens ultimately shapes its state, a principle the RSS has focused on for a century.
