Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
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| Founders | Dr K B Hedgewar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Volunteer organisation | ||||
| Founded | 1925 | ||||
| Location | India | ||||
| Members | estimated at 2.5 to 6 million [1] | ||||
| Website | http://www.rss.org/ | ||||
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The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) (Hindi: राष्ट्रीय स्वयंसेवक संघ), (National Volunteer Organization[2] or National Patriotism Organization[3]), also known theSangh, is a Hindu volunteer[4] organization in India. It is part of the Hindu nationalistSangh Parivar.[5] It was founded in 1925 by Dr. K. B. Hedgewar, a doctor from Nagpur, as a social and cultural organisation in British India,[4] to oppose both British colonialism in India and Muslim separatism.[6]
RSS volunteers participated in various political and social movements including the freedom movement[4] and the organization became the leading Hindu nationalist organization in India.[6] By the 1990s, the group had established numerous schools, charities and clubs to propagate its ideology.[6] RSS volunteers are also known for their role in the relief and rehabilitation work during natural calamities[7] and for running more than 100,000 service programs in education, health care, rural development, tribalemancipation, village self-sufficiency, and the rehabilitation of lepers and special needschildren.[8][9]
Dr. Ambedkar was very much impressed with RSS castelessness in the centre of orthodoxy in Maharashtra. He quoted at Pune in May 1939, "I am surprised to find the Swayamsevaks moving about in absolute equality and brotherhood without even caring to know the caste of the others."
Some critics have referred to the RSS as a Hindu nationalist organization.[1][10][11][12] Some others call it a Hindu supremacist[6] and paramilitary[5] organization. Other critics have accused it of supporting militancy.[13] The RSS denies these accusations, and has sued some accusers.[14] The RSS has been banned three times by the Government of India. It was banned first by the British, then again after independence in 1948 when a former member[15] assassinated Mahatma Gandhi.[6]
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