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125-514: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( RSS , Rāṣṭrīya Svayaṃsevak Saṅgh , Hindi pronunciation: [raːʂˈʈriːj(ə) swəjəmˈseːʋək səŋɡʱ] , pronunciation , lit. ' National Volunteer Organisation ' ) is an Indian right-wing , Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( Hindi for "Sangh family"), which has developed
250-818: A Portuguese colony to being an Indian union territory . In April 1954 the RSS formed a coalition with the National Movement Liberation Organisation (NMLO) and the Azad Gomantak Dal (AGD) for the annexation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli into the Republic of India. On the night of 21 July, United Front of Goans, a group working independently of the coalition, captured the Portuguese police station at Dadra and declared Dadra independent. Subsequently, on 28 July, volunteer teams from
375-544: A 'dead letter'. Sardar Vallabhai Patel , the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India, said in early January 1948 that the RSS activists were "patriots who love their country". He asked the Congressmen to 'win over' the RSS by love, instead of trying to 'crush' them. He also appealed to the RSS to join the Congress instead of opposing it. Jaffrelot says that this attitude of Patel can be partly explained by
500-640: A boost to the movement against Portuguese colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent. In 1955, RSS leaders demanded the end of Portuguese rule in Goa and its integration into India. When Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru refused to provide an armed intervention, RSS leader Jagannath Rao Joshi led the Satyagraha agitation straight into Goa. He was imprisoned with his followers by the Portuguese police. The nonviolent protests continued but met with repression. On 15 August 1955,
625-428: A constitution was drafted for RSS, which, however, initially did not meet any of Patel's demands. After a failed attempt to agitate again, eventually the RSS's constitution was amended according to Patel's wishes with the exception of the procedure for selecting the head of the organisation and the enrolment of pre-adolescents. However, the organisation's internal democracy, which was written into its constitution, remained
750-464: A decentralised economy based on economic freedom and holds property rights , free markets , and free trade to be the most important kinds of freedom. Political theorist Russell Kirk believed that freedom and property rights were interlinked. In France, nationalism was originally a left-wing and republican ideology. After the period of boulangisme and the Dreyfus affair , nationalism became
875-716: A fact that the daily lives of Hindus are even at present-day affected by the principles and injunctions contained in the Manusmrithi and other Smritis . Even an unorthodox Hindu feels himself bound at least in some matters by the rules contained in the Smrithis and he feels powerless to give up altogether his adherence to them. The RSS' opposition to, and vitriolic attacks against, the Constitution of India continued post-independence. In 1966 Golwalkar, in his book titled Bunch of Thoughts asserted: Our Constitution too
1000-565: A few right-wing movements—notably the French Nouvelle Droite , CasaPound , and American paleoconservatism —are often in opposition to capitalist ethics and the effects they have on society. These forces see capitalism and industrialism as infringing upon or causing the decay of social traditions or hierarchies that are essential for social order. In modern times, "right-wing" is sometimes used to describe laissez-faire capitalism . In Europe, capitalists formed alliances with
1125-480: A large role in the organisation, not so much for religious observance, but to provide awareness of India's glorious past and to bind the members in a religious communion. Hedgewar also held weekly sessions of what he called baudhik (ideological education), consisting of simple questions to the novices concerning the Hindu nation and its history and heroes, especially warrior king Shivaji . The saffron flag of Shivaji,
1250-504: A major impression on Hedgewar and convinced him of the need to organise the Hindu society. After acquiring about 100 swayamsevaks (volunteers) to the RSS in 1927, Hedgewar took the issue to the Muslim domain. He led the Hindu religious procession for Ganesha , beating the drums in defiance of the usual practice not to pass in front of a mosque with music. On the day of Lakshmi Puja on 4 September, Muslims are said to have retaliated. When
1375-572: A new flag for the country. Why did they do so? It just is a case of drifting and imitating ... Ours is an ancient and great nation with a glorious past. Then, had we no flag of our own? Had we no national emblem at all these thousands of years? Undoubtedly we had. Then why this utter void, this utter vacuum in our minds. The RSS hoisted the National Flag of India at its Nagpur headquarters only twice, on 14 August 1947 and on 26 January 1950, but stopped doing so after that. This issue has always been
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#17327726208761500-548: A presence in all facets of Indian society and includes the Bharatiya Janata Party , the ruling political party under Narendra Modi , the 14th prime minister of India . Mohan Bhagwat has served as the Sarsanghchalak of the RSS since March 2009. Founded on 27 September 1925, the initial impetus of the organisation was to provide character training and instil "Hindu discipline" in order to unite
1625-528: A selective borrowing of traditions from the Hindu past to achieve a synthesis that was uniquely Indian and Hindu. The Hindu Mahasabha , which was initially a special interest group within the Indian National Congress and later an independent party, was an important influence on the RSS, even though it is rarely acknowledged. In 1923, prominent Hindu leaders like Madan Mohan Malaviya met together on this platform and voiced their concerns on
1750-855: A source of cadre for MI5 . George Orwell , with his real name Eric Blair, served in the Indian Imperial Police, in Burma, from 27 November 1922 to 12 July 1927, formally resigning while on leave in England (effective 1 January 1928) having attained the rank of Assistant District Superintendent at District Headquarters, first in Insein , and later at Moulmein . He wrote of how having been in contact with, in his own words, "the dirty work of Empire at close quarters" had affected his personal, political and social opinions. Some of his works referring to his experiences include " A Hanging " (1931), set in
1875-573: A source of controversy. In 2001 three activists of Rashtrapremi Yuwa Dal – president Baba Mendhe, and members Ramesh Kalambe and Dilip Chattani, along with others – allegedly entered the RSS headquarters in Reshimbagh, Nagpur, on 26 January, the Republic Day of India, and forcibly hoisted the national flag there amid patriotic slogans. They contended that the RSS had never before or after independence, ever hoisted
2000-720: A strong national military force, the right to individual gun ownership, cutting taxes, reducing government spending, and balancing the budget. In Indonesia, Islamic populism has a significant impact on right-wing politics. This largely due to the historical context which Islamic organizations had during the 1960s in destroying the Indonesian Communist Party. Whilst the party is adopting democratic processes with neo-liberal market economies, socially pluralist positions aren't necessarily adopted. The Islamic populism in Indonesia has boosted its influence in 1998 after
2125-417: A trait of the right-wing. Right-wing nationalists sought to define and defend a "true" national identity from elements which they believed were corrupting that identity. Some were supremacists , who in accordance with scientific racism and social Darwinism applied the concept of " survival of the fittest " to nations and races . Right-wing nationalism was influenced by Romantic nationalism in which
2250-605: A volunteer corps to persuade people to comply with decisions of the Hindu Mahasabha, to accept untouchables as Hindus and grant them the right to use wells, enter temples, get an education.' Later, Hindu Mahasabha leader V. D. Savarkar 's 'Hindutva' ideology also had a profound impact on Hedgewar's thinking about the 'Hindu nation'. The initial meeting for the formation of the Sangh on the Vijaya Dashami day of 1925
2375-405: Is Hindi for "branch". Most of the organisational work of the RSS is done through the co-ordination of the various shakhas . These shakhas are run for one hour in public places. The number of shakhas increased from 8500 in 1975 to 11,000 in 1977, and became 20,000 by 1982. In 2004 more than 51,000 shakhas were run throughout India. The number of shakas had fallen by over 10,000 after the fall of
2500-423: Is a scholarly consensus that it spreads hatred and promotes violence. RSS was founded in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar , a doctor in the city of Nagpur , British India. Hedgewar was a political protege of B. S. Moonje , a Tilakite Congressman , Hindu Mahasabha politician and social activist from Nagpur. Moonje had sent Hedgewar to Calcutta to pursue his medical studies and to learn combat techniques from
2625-461: Is just a cumbersome and heterogeneous piecing together of various articles from various Constitutions of Western countries. It has absolutely nothing, which can be called our own. Is there a single word of reference in its guiding principles as to what our national mission is and what our keynote in life is? No! India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had been vigilant towards RSS since he had taken charge. When Golwalkar wrote to Nehru asking for
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#17327726208762750-521: Is unjust, limits personal freedom, and leads to social uniformity and mediocrity. In the view of philosopher Jason Stanley in How Fascism Works , the "politics of hierarchy" is one of the hallmarks of fascism , which refers to a "glorious past" in which members of the rightfully dominant group sat atop the hierarchy, and attempt to recreate this state of being. According to The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought ,
2875-794: The Bhagwa Dhwaj be adopted as the National Flag of India. After the Tricolor was adopted as the National Flag by the Constituent Assembly of India on 22 July 1947, the Organiser viciously attacked the Tricolor and the Constituent Assembly's decision. In an article titled "Mystery behind the Bhagwa Dhwaj ", the Organiser stated: The people who have come to power by the kick of fate may give in our hands
3000-824: The All-India Services by the Constitution. It comprised two branches, the Superior Police Services, from which the Indian (Imperial) Police would later be formed, and the Subordinate Police Service. Until 1893, appointments to the senior grades (i.e., Assistant District Superintendent and above) were mainly from European officers of the Indian Army . The highest rank in the service was the Inspector General for each province. The rank of Inspector General
3125-667: The Arya Samaj and the Hindu Mahasabha. Muslims, Christians and the British were thought of as "foreign bodies" implanted in the Hindu nation, who were able to exploit the disunity and absence of valour among the Hindus in order to subdue them. The solution lay in emulating the characteristics of these "Threatening Others" that were perceived to give them strength, such as paramilitary organisation, emphasis on unity and nationalism. The Hindu nationalists combined these emulatory aspects with
3250-449: The Bhagwa Dhwaj , was used as the emblem for the new organisation. Its public tasks involved protecting Hindu pilgrims at festivals and confronting Muslim resistance against Hindu processions near mosques. Two years into the life of the organisation, in 1927, Hedgewar organised an "Officers' Training Camp" with the objective of forming a corps of key workers, whom he called pracharaks (full-time functionaries or "propagators"). He asked
3375-671: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in 2004. However, by mid-2014, the number had again increased to about 40,000 after the return of BJP to power in the same year. This number stood at 51,335 in August 2015. The shakhas conduct various activities for its volunteers such as physical fitness through yoga, exercises, and games, and activities that encourage civic awareness, social service, community living, and patriotism. Volunteers are trained in first aid and in rescue and rehabilitation operations, and are encouraged to become involved in community development. Generally, shakhas involve
3500-971: The Bible . The term family values has been used by right-wing parties—such as the Republican Party in the United States, the Family First Party in Australia, the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, and the Bharatiya Janata Party in India—to signify support for traditional families and opposition to the changes the modern world has made in how families live. Supporters of "family values" may oppose abortion , euthanasia , and birth control . Outside
3625-646: The British Conservative Party , which responded supporting capitalism. The people of English-speaking countries did not apply the terms right and left to their politics until the 20th century. The term right-wing was originally applied to traditional conservatives , monarchists , and reactionaries; a revision of this which occurred sometime between the 1920s and 1950s considers the far-right to denote fascism , Nazism , and racial supremacy . Rightist regimes were common in Europe in
3750-591: The Cold War , postcolonial governments in Asia , Africa , and Latin America turned to the United States for political and economic support. Communists were also enemies of capitalism, portraying Wall Street as the oppressor of the masses. The United States made anti-communism the top priority of its foreign policy, and many American conservatives sought to combat what they saw as communist influence at home. This led to
3875-543: The Constitution of India , accept the Tricolor as the National Flag of India , define the power of the head of the organisation, make the organisation democratic by holding internal elections, authorisation of their parents before enrolling the pre-adolescents into the movement, and to renounce violence and secrecy. Golwalkar launched a huge agitation against this demand during which he was imprisoned again. Later,
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4000-659: The French Revolution . Some prelates of the Church of England –established by Henry VIII and headed by the current sovereign—are given seats in the House of Lords (as Lords Spiritual ), but they are considered politically neutral rather than specifically right- or left-wing. American right-wing media outlets oppose sex outside marriage and same-sex marriage , and they sometimes reject scientific positions on evolution and other matters where science tends to disagree with
4125-991: The Interwar period , 1919–1938. Among Kuomintang (KMT)'s conservatives during the Republic of China , Dai Jitao Thought supporters formed the Western Hills Group in the 1920s . Chiang Kai-shek initially claimed himself as a 'centrist' in the KMT left-right conflict, but became an anti-communist right-wing after Shanghai massacre . Chiangism (or 'Chiang Kai-shek Thought') was related to Confucianism , state capitalism , paternalistic conservatism , and Chinese nationalism (which included fascistic elements). The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) describes itself as Marxist , and has not officially abandoned leftist ideology, Marxism–Leninism , or socialism with Chinese characteristics . Christer Pursiainen has characterized
4250-519: The Organiser carried another article, titled "Manu Rules our Hearts", written by a retired High Court Judge named Sankar Subba Aiyar, that reaffirmed their support for the Manusmriti as the final lawgiving authority for Hindus, rather than the Constitution of India. It stated: Even though Dr. Ambedkar is reported to have recently stated in Bombay that the days of Manu have ended it is nevertheless
4375-528: The Second Estate , generally sat to the right. In the successive legislative assemblies , monarchists who supported the Old Regime were commonly referred to as rightists because they sat on the right side. A major figure on the right was Joseph de Maistre , who argued for an authoritarian form of conservatism . Throughout France in the 19th century , the main line dividing the left and right
4500-572: The Teutonic Order , educational organizations such as the emerging universities and learned societies , the chartered towns and cities , and most notably the guild system which dominated the economics of population centers in Europe . In post-revolutionary France, the Right fought against the rising power of those who had grown rich through commerce, and sought to preserve the rights of
4625-613: The decline of the Western Roman Empire corporatism became limited to religious orders and to the idea of Christian brotherhood, especially in the context of economic transactions. From the High Middle Ages onwards corporatist organizations became increasingly common in Europe, including such groups as religious orders, monasteries , fraternities , military orders such as the Knights Templar and
4750-485: The 'division in the Hindu community'. In his presidential speech to Mahasabha, Malaviya stated: "Friendship could exist between equals. If the Hindus made themselves strong and the rowdy section among the Mahomedans were convinced they could not safely rob and dishonour Hindus, unity would be established on a stable basis." He wanted the activists 'to educate all boys and girls, establish akharas (gymnasiums), establish
4875-533: The 21st century, neo-nationalism came to prominence after the Cold War in the Western world . It is typically associated with cultural conservatism, populism , anti-globalization , and nativism and is opposed to immigration . The ideology takes historical association in determining membership in a nation, rather than racial concepts . Right-wing politics typically justifies a hierarchical society based on natural law or tradition . Traditionalism
5000-507: The BJP, populism is a core part of the party's ideology. The main populist idea is that the ordinary, "good" individuals are continuously under attack from the "bad" political forces, media, etc. Since Narendra Modi became the leader of the BJP, it has increasingly been associated as a populist radical right party (PRR), however, traditionally the party was viewed as a Hindu nationalist party. Philosopher and diplomat Joseph de Maistre argued for
5125-589: The British. Golwalkar lamented the anti-British nationalism, calling it a "reactionary view" that, he claimed, had disastrous effects upon the entire course of the freedom struggle. It is believed that Golwalkar did not want to give the British an excuse to ban the RSS. He complied with all the strictures imposed by the Government during the Second World War, even announcing the termination of the RSS military department. The British Government believed that
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5250-583: The CCP as a right-wing political party, pointing to an ideological change within the party under Jiang Zemin 's leadership during the 1990s. The political term right-wing was first used during the French Revolution , when liberal deputies of the Third Estate generally sat to the left of the presiding officer's chair, a custom that began in the Estates General of 1789. The nobility, members of
5375-566: The City forces and cantonments) and Constables, consisting mainly of Indians except for the higher ranks. By the 1930s, the Indian Police exercised "unprecedented degree of authority within the colonial administration". The Indian Imperial Police was also the primary law enforcement in Burma , governed as a province of India, until 1937 . Before WWII, the Indian Police routinely served as
5500-459: The Emergency. RSS claimed that the movement was dominated by tens of thousands of RSS cadres. The Emergency was lifted in 1977, and with it, the ban on the RSS was also lifted. The Emergency is said to have legitimised the role of RSS in Indian politics, which had not been possible ever since the stain the organisation had acquired following Mahatma Gandhi's assassination in 1948, thereby 'sowing
5625-453: The Government of India lifted the ban on the RSS by issuing a communique stating that the decision to lift the ban on the RSS had been taken in view of the RSS leader Golwalkar's undertaking to make the group's loyalty towards the Constitution of India and acceptance and respect towards the National Flag of India more explicit in the Constitution of the RSS, which was to be worked out in a democratic manner. After India had achieved independence,
5750-533: The Government. The "Independence Day" announced by the Indian National Congress for 26 January 1930 was celebrated by the RSS that year but was subsequently avoided. The Tricolor of the Indian national movement was shunned. Hedgewar personally participated in the 'Satyagraha' launched by Gandhi in April 1930, but he did not get the RSS involved in the movement. He sent information everywhere that
5875-502: The Hindu community and establish a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation). The organisation aims to spread the ideology of Hindutva to "strengthen" the Hindu community and promotes an ideal of upholding an Indian culture and its civilizational values. On the other hand, the RSS has been described as "founded on the premise of Hindu supremacy ", and has been accused of an intolerance of minorities, in particular anti-Muslim activities. During
6000-471: The Hindu procession reached a mosque in the Mahal area of Nagpur, Muslims blocked it. Later in the afternoon, they attacked the Hindu residences in the Mahal area. It is said that the RSS cadres were prepared for the attack and beat the Muslim rioters back. Riots continued for 3 days and the army had to be called in to quell the violence. RSS organised the Hindu resistance and protected the Hindu households while
6125-593: The Indian Muslim Khilafat issue was a cause for concern to Hedgewar, and so was that the 'cow protection' was not on the Congress agenda. This led Hedgewar, along with other Tilakities, to part ways with Gandhi. In 1921, Hedgewar was arrested on the charges of 'sedition' over his speeches at Katol and Bharatwada. Ultimately, he was sentenced to 1 year in prison. He was released in July 1922. Hedgewar
6250-452: The Muslim households had to leave Nagpur en masse for safety. Tapan Basu et al. note the accounts of "Muslim aggressiveness" and the "Hindu self-defence" in the RSS descriptions of the incident. The above incident vastly enhanced the prestige of the RSS and enabled its subsequent expansion. Christophe Jaffrelot points out the theme of "stigmatisation and emulation" in the ideology of the RSS along with other Hindu nationalist movements such as
6375-399: The National Flag was raised in the RSS headquarters on Republic Day for the first time in 52 years. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh initially did not recognise the Constitution of India , strongly criticising it because the Indian Constitution made no mention of "Manu's laws" – from the ancient Hindu text Manusmriti . When the Constituent Assembly finalised the constitution,
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#17327726208766500-456: The Portuguese police opened fire on the satyagrahis , killing thirty or so civilians. In 1975 the Indira Gandhi government proclaimed emergency rule in India , thereby curtailing the freedom of the press . The Emergency was imposed after Jayaprakash Narayan urged people to start civil disobedience. Narayan also asked the army and the police to disobey the government. A number of opposition leaders including Narayan were arrested. The RSS, which
6625-487: The RSS and AGD captured the territories of Naroli and Phiparia and ultimately the capital of Silvassa . The Portuguese forces that had escaped and moved towards Nagar Haveli, were assaulted at Khandvel and forced to retreat until they surrendered to the Indian border police at Udava on 11 August 1954. A native administration was set up with Appasaheb Karmalkar of the NMLO as the Administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli on 11 August 1954. The capture of Dadra and Nagar Haveli gave
6750-410: The RSS and helped its expansion. V. D. Savarkar, after his release in 1937, joined them in spreading the RSS and giving speeches in its support. Officials in the Home Department called the RSS the "volunteer organisation of the Hindu Mahasabha." Since its formation the RSS opposed joining the independence movement against British rule in India. Portraying itself as a social movement, Hedgewar also kept
6875-427: The RSS and the government and also sought the offices of Sanjay Gandhi , Indira Gandhi's son. Provincial RSS organiser Lala Hansraj Gupta had also written a letter to Indira Gandhi and promised to begin "a new era of co-operation" between the Sangh Parivar and the Congress in exchange for the removal of the ban on the RSS. A number of volunteers of the RSS have claimed that they carried out activities underground during
7000-421: The RSS as an inactive organisation, whose statements had no substance in reality. Similarly, RSS neither supported nor joined in the Royal Indian Navy mutiny against the British in 1946. Overall, the RSS opposed joining the independence movement, instead adopting a policy of collaboration with the British regime. The Partition of India affected millions of Sikhs , Hindus , and Muslims attempting to escape
7125-417: The RSS by noting that the Sangh had scrupulously kept itself within the law and refrained from taking part in the disturbances ( Quit India Movement ) that broke out in August 1942. It also reported that the RSS had not, in any way, infringed upon government orders and had always shown a willingness to comply with the law. The Bombay Government report further noted that in December 1940, orders had been issued to
7250-415: The RSS in the independence movement against the British rule. French political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot says that the RSS was intended to propagate the ideology of Hindutva and to provide "new physical strength" to the majority community. After Tilak's demise in 1920, like other followers of Tilak in Nagpur, Hedgewar was opposed to some of the programmes adopted by Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi's stance on
7375-494: The RSS men had celebrated Gandhi's death. Patel was also apprehensive of the secrecy in the working manner of RSS and complained that all of its provincial heads were Maratha Brahmins. He criticised the RSS for having its own army inside India, which he said, cannot be permitted as "it was a potential danger to the State". He also remarked: "The members of RSS claimed to be the defenders of Hinduism. But they must understand that Hinduism would not be saved by rowdyism." On 11 July 1949
7500-413: The RSS mouthpiece, the Organiser , complained in an editorial dated 30 November 1949: But in our constitution, there is no mention of that unique constitutional development in ancient Bharat... To this day his laws as enunciated in the Manusmriti excite the admiration of the world and elicit spontaneous obedience and conformity. But to our constitutional pundits that means nothing." On 6 February 1950
7625-461: The RSS was not supporting any civil disobedience against them, and their other political activities could thus be overlooked. The British Home Department took note of the fact that the speakers at the RSS meetings urged the members to keep aloof from the anti-British movements of the Indian National Congress , which was duly followed. The Home Department did not see the RSS as a problem for law and order in British India. The Bombay government appreciated
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#17327726208767750-417: The RSS was one of the socio-political organisations that supported and participated in movements to decolonise Dadra and Nagar Haveli , which at that time was ruled by Portugal. In early 1954 volunteers Raja Wakankar and Nana Kajrekar of the RSS visited the area round about Dadra, Nagar Haveli, and Daman several times to study the topography and get acquainted with locals who wanted the area to change from being
7875-495: The RSS would not participate in the Satyagraha. However, those wishing to participate individually were not prohibited. In 1934, Congress passed a resolution prohibiting its members from joining the RSS, Hindu Mahasabha, or the Muslim League. M. S. Golwalkar, who became the leader of the RSS in 1940, continued and further strengthened the isolation from the independence movement. In his view, the RSS had pledged to achieve freedom through "defending religion and culture", not by fighting
8000-525: The Right during their conflicts with workers after 1848. In France, the Right's support of capitalism can be traced to the late nineteenth century. The so-called neoliberal Right, popularised by US President Ronald Reagan and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , combines support for free markets , privatisation , and deregulation with traditional right-wing support for social conformity. Right-wing libertarianism (sometimes known as libertarian conservatism or conservative libertarianism ) supports
8125-433: The Right has gone through five distinct historical stages: The political terms Left and Right were first used in the 18th century, during the French Revolution , referencing the seating arrangement of the French parliament . Those who sat to the right of the chair of the presiding officer ( le président ) were generally supportive of the institutions of the monarchist Old Regime . The original "Right" in France
8250-459: The Tricolor but it [will] never be respected and owned by Hindus. The word three is in itself an evil, and a flag having three colours will certainly produce a very bad psychological effect and is injurious to a country. In an essay titled "Drifting and Drafting" published in Bunch of Thoughts , Golwalkar lamented the choice of the Tricolor as the National Flag and compared it to an intellectual vacuum/void. In his words: Our leaders have set up
8375-406: The Tricolor in their premises. Offences were registered by the Bombay Police against the trio, who were then jailed. They were discharged by the court after eleven years in 2013. The arrests and the flag-hoisting issue stoked a controversy, which was raised in the Parliament as well. Hoisting of the flag was very restrictive until the formation of the flag code of India (2002). Subsequently, in 2002,
8500-403: The West, the Hindu nationalist movement has attracted privileged groups which fear encroachment on their dominant positions, as well as "plebeian" and impoverished groups which seek recognition around a majoritarian rhetoric of cultural pride, order, and national strength. In Israel, Meir Kahane advocated that Israel should be a theocratic state , where non- Jews have no voting rights, and
8625-434: The adoption of several domestic policies that are collectively known under the term McCarthyism . While both liberals and conservatives were anti-communist, the followers of Senator McCarthy were called right-wing and those on the right called liberals who favored free speech, even for communists, leftist . Early forms of corporatism would be developed in Classical Greece and used in Ancient Rome . Plato would develop
8750-661: The alliance. However, the alliance saw a "common enemy", not a "common enmity". When the government refused to entertain demands of Khilafatists, this would cause some Muslims to turn their anger towards Hindus. The first major incident of religious violence was reportedly the Moplah rebellion in August 1921, it was widely narrated that the rebellion ended in large-scale violence against Hindu officials in Malabar . A cycle of inter-communal violence throughout India followed for several years. In 1923, there were riots in Nagpur, called "Muslim riots" by Hedgewar, where Hindus were felt to be "totally disorganized and panicky." These incidents made
8875-449: The assistance the RSS gave the Indian administration in maintaining public order in September 1947, and that his expression of 'qualified sympathy' towards RSS reflected the long-standing inclination of several Hindu traditionalists in Congress. However, after Gandhi's assassination on 30 January 1948, Patel began to view that the activities of RSS were a danger to public security. In his reply letter to Golwalkar on 11 September 1948 regarding
9000-426: The church, the family, the state, and business. Right-wing populism is a combination of civic-nationalism , cultural-nationalism and sometimes ethno-nationalism , localism , along with anti-elitism , using populist rhetoric to provide a critique of existing political institutions. According to Margaret Canovan, a right-wing populist is "a charismatic leader, using the tactics of politicians' populism to go past
9125-511: The colonial period, the RSS collaborated with the British Raj and played no role in the Indian independence movement . After independence, it grew into an influential Hindu nationalist umbrella organisation, spawning several affiliated organisations that established numerous schools, charities, and clubs to spread its ideological beliefs. It was banned in 1947 for four days, and then thrice by
9250-594: The conspiracy charge by the Supreme Court of India . Following his release in August 1948, Golwalkar wrote to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to lift the ban on RSS. After Nehru replied that the matter was the responsibility of the Home Minister, Golwalkar consulted Vallabhai Patel regarding the same. Patel then demanded an absolute pre-condition that the RSS adopt a formal written constitution and make it public, where Patel expected RSS to pledge its loyalty to
9375-497: The counterpart to left-wing politics , and the left–right political spectrum is the most common political spectrum . The right includes social conservatives and fiscal conservatives , as well as right-libertarians . "Right" and "right-wing" have been variously used as compliments and pejoratives describing neoliberal , conservative , and fascist economic and social ideas. The following positions are typically associated with right-wing politics. Early communists used
9500-596: The demise of the Suharto authoritarian regime. Islamic populism in Indonesia has similar properties with Islamic populist regimes like in the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa (MENA). The emphasis on social justice, pluralism, equality and progressive agendas could be potentially mobilized by Islamic cultural resources. In India, Bharatiya Janata Party supporters have more authoritarian, nativist, and populist ideas than other Indian citizens. Under Narendra Modi,
9625-856: The far-right Lehava strictly opposes Jewish assimilation and the Christian presence in Israel. The Jewish Defence League (JDL) in the United States was classified as "a right wing terrorist group" by the FBI in 2001. Many Islamist groups have been called right-wing, including the Great Union Party , the Combatant Clergy Association /Association of Militant Clergy, and the Islamic Society of Engineers of Iran. Right-wing politics involves, in varying degrees,
9750-642: The gathering of male RSS members to train in martial arts, exercise in other ways, and "recite nationalist stories" to outsiders. Right wing politics Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law , economics , authority , property , religion , biology , or tradition . Hierarchy and inequality may be seen as natural results of traditional social differences or competition in market economies . Right-wing politics are considered
9875-636: The hereditary nobility. They were uncomfortable with capitalism, the Enlightenment, individualism, and industrialism, and fought to retain traditional social hierarchies and institutions. In Europe's history, there have been strong collectivist right-wing movements, such as in the social Catholic right , that have exhibited hostility to all forms of liberalism (including economic liberalism ) and have historically advocated for paternalist class harmony involving an organic-hierarchical society where workers are protected while class hierarchy remains. In
10000-502: The ideas of totalitarian and communitarian corporatist systems of natural based classes and social hierarchies that would be organized based on function, such that groups would cooperate to achieve social harmony by emphasizing collectives interests over individual interests. Corporatism as a political ideology advocates the organization of society by corporate groups —such as agricultural, labour, military, scientific, or guild associations—based on their common interests. After
10125-537: The indirect authority of the Pope over temporal matters. According to Maistre, only governments which were founded upon Christian constitutions—which were implicit in the customs and institutions of all European societies, especially the Catholic European monarchies—could avoid the disorder and bloodshed that followed the implementation of rationalist political programs, such as the chaos which occurred during
10250-415: The internationalism of the communists. The 1920s and 1930s saw the decline of traditional right-wing politics. The mantle of conservative anti-communism was taken up by the rising fascist movements on the one hand and by American-inspired liberal conservatives on the other. When communist groups and political parties began appearing around the world, their opponents were usually colonial authorities and
10375-534: The landed gentry and landlords of Punjab, which included Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs. Along with the RSS, the Muslim National Guard was also banned. The ban was lifted on 28 January 1947. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh initially did not recognise the Tricolor as the National Flag of India . The RSS-inspired publication, the Organiser , demanded, in an editorial titled "National Flag", that
10500-407: The laws, but unequal in all else; hierarchy is the order of nature, and privilege is the reward of honourable service". American conservative Russell Kirk also rejected egalitarianism as imposing sameness, stating: "Men are created different; and a government that ignores this law becomes an unjust government for it sacrifices nobility to mediocrity". Kirk took as one of the "canons" of conservatism
10625-591: The left- and the right-wing. In British politics, the terms right and left came into common use for the first time in the late 1930s during debates over the Spanish Civil War . In the United States, following the Second World War , social conservatives joined with right-wing elements of the Republican Party to gain support in traditionally Democratic voting populations like white southerners and Catholics . Ronald Reagan's election to
10750-415: The lifting of ban on RSS, Patel stated that though RSS did service to the Hindu society by helping and protecting the Hindus when in need during partition violence, they also began attacking Muslims with revenge and went against "innocent men, women and children". He said that the speeches of RSS were "full of communal poison", and as a result of that 'poison', he remarked, India had to lose Gandhi, noting that
10875-471: The lifting of the ban on RSS after Gandhi's assassination, Nehru replied that the government had proof that RSS activities were 'anti-national' by virtue of being 'communalist'. In his letter to the heads of provincial governments in December 1947, Nehru wrote that "we have a great deal of evidence to show that RSS is an organisation which is in the nature of a private army and which is definitely proceeding on
11000-440: The murder of the apostle of peace. It has not been proved that they (the accused) were members of the RSS." However, the then Indian Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had remarked that the "RSS men expressed joy and distributed sweets after Gandhi's death". The association with the incident also made the RSS "very unpopular and considerably dented its polarizing appeal". RSS leaders were acquitted of
11125-505: The nineteenth century, the Right had shifted to support the newly rich in some European countries (particularly Britain) and instead of favouring the nobility over industrialists, favoured capitalists over the working class. Other right-wing movements—such as Carlism in Spain and nationalist movements in France, Germany, and Russia—remained hostile to capitalism and industrialism. Nevertheless,
11250-548: The official RSS history, he came to realise that revolutionary activities alone were not enough to overthrow the British. After reading V. D. Savarkar 's Hindutva , published in Nagpur in 1923, and meeting Savarkar in the Ratnagiri prison in 1925, Hedgewar was extremely influenced by him, and he founded the RSS with the objective of strengthening Hindu society. Hedgewar believed that a handful of British were able to rule over
11375-791: The often antagonistic Hindu groups into a common nationalist movement. The 1920s witnessed a significant deterioration in the relations between Hindus and Muslims. The Muslim masses were mobilised by the Khilafat movement , opposing dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire by the Allies and some demanded the reinstatement of the Caliphate in Turkey. Mahatma Gandhi made an alliance with the movement for conducting his own Non-co-operation movement . Gandhi aimed to create Hindu–Muslim unity in forming
11500-634: The organisation from having any direct affiliation with political organisations then fighting British rule. RSS rejected Gandhi's willingness to co-operate with the Muslims. In accordance with Hedgewar's tradition of keeping the RSS away from the Indian Independence movement, any political activity that could be construed as being anti-British was carefully avoided. According to the RSS biographer C. P. Bhishikar, Hedgewar talked only about Hindu organisations and avoided any direct comment on
11625-502: The organisation in 1946. A Commission of Inquiry into Conspiracy to the murder of Gandhi was set, and its report was published by India's Ministry of Home Affairs in the year 1970. Accordingly, the Justice Kapur Commission noted that the "RSS as such were not responsible for the murder of Mahatma Gandhi, meaning thereby that one could not name the organisation as such as being responsible for that most diabolical crime,
11750-486: The politicians and intellectual elite and appeal to the reactionary sentiments of the populace, often buttressing his claim to speak for the people by the use of referendums". In Europe, right-wing populism often takes the form of distrust of the European Union , and of politicians in general, combined with anti-immigrant rhetoric and a call for a return to traditional, national values. Daniel Stockemer states,
11875-476: The politicians. The RSS blamed Gandhi, Nehru and Patel for their 'naivety which resulted in the partition' and held them responsible for the mass killings and displacement of the millions of people. The first ban on the RSS was imposed in Punjab Province (British India) on 24 January 1947 by Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana , the premier of the ruling Unionist Party , a party that represented the interests of
12000-402: The post-independence Indian government, first in 1948 when Nathuram Godse , an erstwhile member of RSS, assassinated Mahatma Gandhi ; then during the Emergency (1975–1977); and for a third time after the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992. In the 21st century, it is the world's largest far-right organisation by membership. The RSS has been criticised as an extremist organisation and there
12125-712: The presidency in 1980 cemented the alliance between the religious right in the United States and social conservatives. Indian Imperial Police The Indian Imperial Police , referred to variously as the Indian Police or, by 1905, the Imperial Police , was part of the Indian Police Services , the uniform system of police administration in British India , as established by Government of India Act 1858 and Police Act of 1861. It
12250-414: The principle that "civilized society requires orders and classes". Italian scholar Norberto Bobbio argued that the right-wing is inegalitarian compared to the left-wing, as he argued that equality is a relative, not absolute, concept. Right libertarians reject collective or state-imposed equality as undermining reward for personal merit, initiative, and enterprise. In their view, such imposed equality
12375-543: The provincial RSS leaders to desist from any activities that the British Government considered objectionable, and the RSS, in turn, had assured the British authorities that "it had no intentions of offending against the orders of the Government". Golwalkar later openly admitted the fact that the RSS did not participate in the Quit India Movement. He agreed that such a stance led to a perception of
12500-504: The radical right is, "Targeting immigrants as a threat to employment, security and cultural cohesion." In the United States, the Tea Party movement stated that the core beliefs for membership were the primacy of individual liberties as defined by the Constitution of the United States, preference for a small federal government, and respect for the rule of law. Some policy positions included opposition to illegal immigration and support for
12625-492: The rejection of some egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics , claiming either that social or economic inequality is natural and inevitable or that it is beneficial to society. Right-wing ideologies and movements support social order . The original French right-wing was called "the party of order" and held that France needed a strong political leader to keep order. Conservative British scholar R. J. White, who rejects egalitarianism, wrote: "Men are equal before God and
12750-657: The secret revolutionary societies of the Bengalis. Hedgewar became a member of the Anushilan Samiti , an anti-British revolutionary group, getting into its inner circle. The secretive methods of these societies were eventually used by him in organising the RSS. After returning to Nagpur, Hedgewar organised anti-British activities through the Kranti Dal (Party of Revolution) and participated in independence activist Tilak 's Home Rule campaign in 1918. According to
12875-502: The seeds' for the Hindutva politics of the following decades. RSS does not have any formal membership. According to the official website, men and boys can become members by joining the nearest shakha , which is the basic unit. Although the RSS claims not to keep membership records, it is estimated to have had 2.5 to 6.0 million members in 2001. There are the following terms to describe RSS leaders and members: The term shakha
13000-438: The state derives its political legitimacy from the organic unity of those who it governs. This generally includes the language, race, culture, religion, and customs of the nation, all of which were "born" within its culture. Linked with right-wing nationalism is cultural conservatism , which supports the preservation of the heritage of a nation or culture and often sees deviations from cultural norms as an existential threat. In
13125-559: The states of India. Multiple political parties however identify with terms and beliefs which are, by political consensus, right or left wing. Certain political parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party , identify with conservative and nationalist elements. Some, such as the Indian National Congress , take a liberal stance. The Communist Party of India , Communist Party of India (Marxist) , and others, identify with left-wing socialist and communist concepts. Other political parties take differing stands, and hence cannot be clearly grouped as
13250-412: The strictest Nazi lines, even following the techniques of the organisation". In January 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by a member of the RSS, Nathuram Godse . Following the assassination, many prominent leaders of the RSS were arrested, and the RSS as an organisation was banned on 4 February 1948. During the court proceedings in relation to the assassination Godse began claiming that he had left
13375-628: The student population. Three pracharaks went to Punjab: Appaji Joshi to Sialkot , Moreshwar Munje to the DAV College in Rawalpindi and Raja Bhau Paturkar to the DAV College in Lahore . In 1940, Madhavrao Muley was appointed as the prant pracharak (regional head) for Punjab in Lahore. Scholars differ on Hedgewar's motivations for forming the RSS, especially because he never involved
13500-467: The term right-wing came to be applied to colonialism . After World War II , communism became a global phenomenon and anti-communism became an integral part of the domestic and foreign policies of the United States and its NATO allies. Conservatism in the post-war era abandoned its monarchist and aristocratic roots, focusing instead on patriotism, religious values, and nationalism. Throughout
13625-431: The term "right-wing" in reference to conservatives, placing the conservatives on the right, the liberals in the centre and the communists on the left. Both the conservatives and the liberals were strongly anti-communist , although conservatives' anti-communism is much stronger than liberals'. The history of the use of the term right-wing about anti-communism is a complicated one. Early Marxist movements were at odds with
13750-491: The three most powerful monarchies in continental Europe before World War I . Many monarchists (except constitutional monarchists ) viewed inequality in wealth and political power as resulting from a divine natural order. The struggle between monarchists and communists was often described as a struggle between the Right and the Left. By World War I , in most European monarchies the divine right of kings had become discredited and
13875-652: The traditional monarchies that ruled over much of the European continent at the time. Many European monarchies outlawed the public expression of communist views and the Communist Manifesto , which began "[a] spectre [that] is haunting Europe", and stated that monarchs feared for their thrones. Advocacy of communism was illegal in the Russian Empire , the German Empire , and Austria-Hungary ,
14000-537: The vast country of India because Hindus were disunited, lacked valour ( pararkram ) and lacked a civic character. He recruited energetic Hindu youth with revolutionary fervour, gave them a uniform of a black forage cap, khaki shirt (later white shirt) and khaki shorts—emulating the uniform of the Indian Imperial Police —and taught them paramilitary techniques with lathi (bamboo staff), sword, javelin, and dagger. Hindu ceremonies and rituals played
14125-509: The violence and carnage that followed. During the partition, the RSS helped the Hindu refugees fleeing West Punjab; its activists also played an active role in the communal violence during Hindu-Muslim riots in North India, though this was officially not sanctioned by the leadership. To the RSS activists, the partition was a result of mistaken soft-line towards the Muslims, which only confirmed the natural moral weaknesses and corruptibility of
14250-407: The volunteers to first become " sadhus" (ascetics) , renouncing professional and family lives and dedicating their lives to the cause of the RSS. Hedgewar is believed to have embraced the doctrine of renunciation after it had been reinterpreted by nationalists such as Aurobindo . The tradition of renunciation gave the RSS the character of a 'Hindu sect'. Developing a network of shakhas (branches)
14375-422: The wealth redistribution measures characteristic of social democracy . The dominance of the political right of inter-war Hungary , after the collapse of a short-lived Communist regime, was described by historian István Deák : Although freedom fighters are favoured, the right-wing tendency to elect or appoint politicians and government officials based on aristocratic and religious ties is common to almost all
14500-458: Was advocated by a group of United States university professors (labelled the "New Conservatives" by the popular press) who rejected the concepts of individualism , liberalism , modernity , and social progress , seeking instead to promote what they identified as cultural and educational renewal and a revived interest in concepts perceived by traditionalists as truths that endure from age to age alongside basic institutions of western society such as
14625-702: Was between supporters of the republic and those of the monarchy, who were often secularist and Catholic respectively. On the right, the Legitimists and Ultra-royalists held counter-revolutionary views, while the Orléanists hoped to create a constitutional monarchy under their preferred branch of the royal family, which briefly became a reality after the 1830 July Revolution . The centre-right Gaullists in post-World War II France advocated considerable social spending on education and infrastructure development as well as extensive economic regulation, but limited
14750-427: Was distressed at the lack of organisation among volunteer organisations of Congress. Subsequently, he felt the need to create an independent organisation that was based on the country's traditions and history. He held meetings with prominent political figures in Nagpur between 1922–1924. He visited Gandhi's ashram in nearby Wardha in 1924 and discussed a number of things. After this meeting, he left Wardha to plan to unite
14875-730: Was equated and ranked with Brigadier and similar ranks in the Indian Armed Forces , as per Central Warrant of Precedence in 1937. Subordinate to the Inspector General, the ranks were composed of District Superintendents and Assistant District Superintendents, most of whom were appointed, from 1893, by examination for the Indian Civil Service tests in the UK. The Subordinate Police Service consisted of Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors, Head Constables (or Sergeant in
15000-475: Was formed in reaction to the "Left" and comprised those supporting hierarchy, tradition, and clericalism . The expression la droite ("the right") increased in use after the restoration of the monarchy in 1815 , when it was applied to the ultra-royalists . From the 1830s to the 1880s, the Western world 's social class structure and economy shifted from nobility and aristocracy towards capitalism . This shift affected centre-right movements such as
15125-632: Was held between Hedgewar and four Hindu Mahasabha leaders: B. S. Moonje , Ganesh Savarkar , L. V. Paranjpe and B. B. Tholkar. RSS took part as a volunteer force in organising the Hindu Mahasabha annual meeting in Akola in 1931. Moonje remained a patron of the RSS throughout his life. Both he and Ganesh Savarkar worked to spread the RSS shakhas in Maharashtra, Panjab, Delhi, and the princely states by initiating contacts with local leaders. Savarkar merged his own youth organisation Tarun Hindu Sabha with
15250-722: Was motivated by the danger experienced by the British during the 1857 rebellion. In 1920 the Imperial Indian police had 310,000 police in their contingent. Its members policed more than 300 million people in the British Raj (now India , Pakistan , Bangladesh , Bhutan and Burma ). In 1948, a year after India's independence , the Imperial Police Service was replaced by the Indian Police Service , which had been constituted as part of
15375-702: Was replaced by liberal and nationalist movements. Most European monarchs became figureheads, or they yielded some power to elected governments. The most conservative European monarchy, the Russian Empire, was replaced by the communist Soviet Union . The Russian Revolution inspired a series of other communist revolutions across Europe in the years 1917–1923 . Many of these, such as the German Revolution , were defeated by nationalist and monarchist military units. During this period, nationalism began to be considered right-wing, especially when it opposed
15500-603: Was seen as being close to opposition leaders, and with its large organisational base, was seen to have the capability of organising protests against the government, and was thus also banned. Deoras, the then chief of the RSS, wrote letters to Indira Gandhi, promising her to extend the organisation's co-operation in return for the lifting of the ban, asserting that RSS had no connection with the movement in Bihar and that in Gujarat . He tried to persuade Vinoba Bhave to mediate between
15625-487: Was the main preoccupation for Hedgewar throughout his career as the RSS chief. The first pracharaks were responsible for establishing as many shakhas as possible, first in Nagpur, then across Maharashtra, and eventually in the rest of India. P. B. Dani was sent to establish a shakha at the Benaras Hindu University ; other universities were similarly targeted to recruit new followers among
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