RSS draws global attention as US delegation attends RSS meet

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(RSSFACTS is a column that demystifies the functioning, organisational structure and ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.)

In an interesting development, an American delegation composed of prominent personalities attended the valedictory ceremony of a third-year training camp of RSS volunteers (also known as Karyakarta Vikas Varga-2) in Nagpur recently, where the Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat delivered an impactful address. The RSS was born in Nagpur in 1925, and the place holds special significance for the organisation as its national headquarters is situated there.

The ‘Third-Year’ camp is the most coveted one in the organisation. Swayamsevaks (volunteers) selected through a rigorous process from all over the country attend it. It is a 25-day camp organised during the soaring heat in Nagpur, Maharashtra, in the months of May and June. This training camp can only be attended by those who have attended the first- and second-year camps. Generally, young men above the age of 16 years attend the first- and second-year camps, while the third-year camp is typically attended by Swayamsevaks above 18 years of age. A large number of Swayamsevaks who attend the third-year camp mostly choose to become a ‘Pracharak’ (full-time workers of the RSS). However, not everyone finishing the third-year camp does so.

It is important to note that this is the first time that a delegation comprising prominent personalities from the US attended this ceremony. The indications are clear that as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) turns 100 this year, there is increasing interest in the Western world to know more about the organisation, which has often been stereotyped by many scholars in the West as a right-wing Hindu majoritarian organisation. The fact of the matter is that the RSS doesn’t believe in the binary of ‘Left vs Right’ and cannot be understood through a ‘strait-jacket’ approach. And it appears that the message has reached a cross-section of the Western world.

American Delegation

This American delegation that visited Nagpur comprised Bill Shuster, Bob Shuster, Bradford Ellison, Walter Russell Mead, and Bill Drexel. A look at their profiles explains the readiness of the Western world to look beyond the stereotypes regarding arguably the world’s largest voluntary organisation.

Bill Shuster is one of the most respected former Members of Congress in the US House of Representatives. Congressman Shuster represented the people of Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District in Congress for more than 17 years, first elected in 2001. A former Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Shuster earned a reputation for effectively working across the aisle to improve America’s infrastructure.

Bob Shuster is a Founding Partner of One+Strategies. Prior to starting One+, Bob was a Shareholder and Board Member of a large mid-Atlantic law firm. For the past 30 years, he has practised law and provided government relations counsel to clients at both the state and federal levels. Shuster counsels clients on business matters and public policy issues, primarily focusing on legislative and appropriations issues for infrastructure projects. His clients have interests in aviation, rail, water, pipelines, technology, transportation, power generation, and utility projects.

Bradford Ellison is a Public Policy Practitioner, focusing on congressional investigations, navigating financial regulations, and building digital and physical infrastructure around the world. Ellison developed a versatile background in foreign affairs and government relations, having served as a Political and Economic Affairs Intern at the US Embassy in Lomé, Togo, and twice in Rep. James Clyburn’s Office of the Majority Whip.

Walter Russell Mead is the Ravenel B. Curry III Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship at Hudson Institute, the Alexander Hamilton Professor of Strategy and Statecraft with the Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida, and the “Global View” columnist at the Wall Street Journal. Mead writes on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from international affairs to religion, politics, culture, education, and the media. He is a member of the Aspen Institute Italy. In 2012, the Foreign Policy Research Institute awarded him its Benjamin Franklin Prize for his work in the field of American foreign policy.

Bill Drexel is also a fellow at the Hudson Institute. His work focuses on United States–India relations, artificial intelligence competition with China, and technology in American grand strategy. Previously, Drexel worked on technology and national security at the Center for a New American Security, humanitarian innovation at the United Nations, and on Indo-Pacific affairs at the American Enterprise Institute. Drexel’s opinions are regularly sought out by outlets like The Economist, TIME, and CNN, and his writings have appeared in Foreign Affairs, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, and Politico.

Long-run Implications

The visit of this American delegation also led to their interaction with RSS functionaries and its swayamsevaks (volunteers). The implications of this delegation’s presence in Nagpur imply two significant things. First, it cements the RSS’ persistent stand that anyone can come and interact with their volunteers and functionaries, and that its doors are open to all. Second, this visit also indicates that the RSS is now a subject of ‘global interest’. Most importantly, it appears that a section of intellectuals and public figures in the rest of the world are ready to shed the baggage of a well-planned false propaganda against the RSS and are keen to know more about the organisation ‘first-hand’.

Earlier RSSFACTS columns can be read here.