[ Ngayir Taji ]
As the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) approaches its centenary this year, the organisation announced nationwide celebrations through conferences and public outreach programmes.
Founded by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar on the day of Vijayadashami (27 September, 1925), the RSS has grown from a small shakha in Nagpur into one of India’s most influential cultural organisations. The RSS believes in shaping individuals with discipline and self-reliance, enabling them to contribute to nation-building.
Its philosophy of discipline, patriotism, self-reliance, and cultural nationalism underpins its vision of uniting India through shared ancient values and traditions.
On 27 October, 1946, three pracharaks (Dadarao Parmarth, Vasantrao Oak, and Krishna Paranjpe) landed in Assam, marking its first presence in Northeast India. Subsequently, they established the RSS shakhas in Guwahati, Shillong, and Dibrugarh.
Since then, thousands of swayamsevaks have been working to extend the organisation’s influence in the region.
The first major work in the region was initiated during the 1950 Assam earthquake, where it conducted humanitarian relief activities. The sangh extended its voluntary works during the 1962 Sino-India War. RSS volunteers were engaged in managing traffic, carrying military supplies, providing relief to soldiers, raising funds for the war efforts, and conducting a blood donation drive.
Viewing the RSS’ efforts as a patriotic response to the national crisis, the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru appreciated the selfless services of the RSS and invited them to participate in the Republic Day paradein 1963.
The foundation of RSS in Arunachal Pradesh started during the NEFA (North-East Frontier Agency) days in the 1960s. The pracharaks would pay occasional visits to the region, primarily to communicate its ideological values and establish contact with local communities.
Post 1962 Sino-India War, a more organized engagement started with an exploratory journey of Arun Shathe (brother of former Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan) from Mumbai, who was serving as a pracharak in Kolkata, PB Acharya, SR Shinde, and a group of student volunteers.
It is learnt that while Shathe accompanied the group up to Guwahati, Acharya, Shende, and four student volunteers proceeded further into the NEFA. Their NEFA visit involved examining the socioeconomic conditions of the region that culminated in a comprehensive report based on their observations and experiences.
In 1987, the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram extended its activities to the state by organizing a medical camp in Likabali, facilitated by volunteers from Silapathar, a small town in Assam, under the leadership of one Dwarikachari.
An exposure tour initiative, Arunadaya, was launched in 1992. A total of 28 persons from Arunachal, led by Talom Rukbo, the founder of Donyi-Polo movement, were taken outside the state to expose and connect them to the national cultural and civilizational values.
The following year, in 1993, the Kalyan Ashram was reconstituted as the Arunachal Vikas Parishad (AVP) and was formally registered, as suggested by the then chief minister, Gegong Apang. It aimed to adopt a locally rooted name. Talom Rukbo was appointed as its first president.
Since its establishment, the AVP has been effortlessly working for the preservation and promotion of the indigenous beliefs, cultural ethos, and social practices of the communities of Arunachal.
Today, the AVP operates in 27 districts of Arunachal and sponsors around 91 tribal students to study across India, exposing them to national networks while retaining their cultural roots.
Other affiliates, such as the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Seva Bharati, Arunachal Shiksha Vikas Samiti (ASVS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Sanskar Bharati, and Bharatiya Shiksha Mandal deepened RSS influence in education, health, and cultural revival. These affiliates remained active even before the RSS formally established its state office, Seva Dham, in Lekhi village in 2016.
In 1966, the Government of India responded to the demands of the local communities by establishing a Ramakrishna Mission School in Aalo. An institution that blends tradition with modernity, the school was opened following correspondence between Indira Gandhi (then union minister for information and broadcasting), and Swami Ranganathananda Maharaj (the then trustee of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission).
However, an RSS ideologue, Shantanu Raghunath Shende, played a key role in shaping the school. Later, he founded the Arunachal Shiksha Vikas Samiti (1994) under Vidya Bharati.
The SEIL (Students’ Experience in Interstate Living) programme, initiated in 1965 by PB Acharya and Dilip Paranjape, became very popular, etched in the minds of youths across the state. It was supported by the RSS students’ wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
Under the SEIL programme, ‘My Home is India'(MHI) was launched, in which students from the Northeast were sent to Bombay and other cities, fostering bonds of fraternity and oneness. In 1967,the ABVP invited a batch of 80 students from Arunachal, Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram to Bombay.
Slogans like ‘Bombay hoya Gauhati, apna desh apni mitti’ and ‘Alag vesh, phir bhi apna ek desh’ were popularised by the ABVP during those days.
By 1977, a major institutional breakthrough came with the opening of Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalayas(VKVs) under Eknath Ranade, an RSS activist and ideologue. Guided by the twin ideals of man-making and nation-building, the VKVs emphasize not merely formal education but also cultural rootedness.
The first VKV was founded in Sher near Kimin in 1977. Operating under the Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalayas Arunachal Pradesh Trust (VKVAPT), the network has since expanded to 44 schools across the state.
With its impressive presence in 3,200 villages of Arunachal, the RSS and its affiliates have shifted their focus towards cultural preservation. They have actively supported indigenous faith movements, be it Donyi-Poloim and Rangfraaism, framing them as part of India’s broader civilisational ethos. Through this alignment, the RSS positions itself both as a custodian of tribal heritage and a promoter of national integration.
The RSS’ presence in Arunachal has had complex outcomes. On the positive side, it has contributed significantly to national integration, education, health services, cultural preservation, and opportunities for youths to engage with wider India. Its schools, cultural programmes, and integration initiatives have helped nurture a sense of belonging to the Indian nation-state in a strategically sensitive frontier.
Yet criticisms remain. Critics point out that the embrace of indigenous faiths often comes with reinterpretations aligned to Hindu nationalist narratives, raising concerns about cultural homogenization and erosion of tribal distinctiveness. For some, the integration process is also seen as assimilation into the dominant ideology of Hindutva, rather than a pluralistic engagement.
The RSS in Arunachal presents a dual legacy. Through seva and cultural outreach, it has undeniably filled gaps in education, welfare, cultural preservation and national integration. At the same time, its activities form part of a larger ideological project of cultural nationalism, sparking debates on identity, autonomy, and assimilation.
As the RSS marks its centenary, its activities in Arunachal illustrate not only the breadth of its organisational outreach but also its adaptability and evolving strategies in negotiating the complex and contested spaces and processes of nation-building in India’s frontier state of Arunachal. (Ngayir Taji is a junior research fellow in the political science department of Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono Hills)
