BENGALURU, 9 Nov

In a veiled response to Congress leaders questioning the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) legal status, its chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday that the organisation is recognised as a “body of individuals” and does not require registration.

“RSS was established in 1925 — do you expect us to have registered with the British government?” Bhagwat asked during an in-house Q&A session organised by the Sangh. He added that registration was not mandatory after Independence and that the Income Tax department and courts had classified RSS as a body of individuals, granting it exemption from income tax.

“We were banned thrice. So, the government has recognised us. If we were not there, whom did they ban?” he quipped, adding that many institutions, including “Hindu Dharma”, are not registered.

On allegations that the RSS does not respect the national flag, Bhagwat clarified that while the saffron flag is treated as a “Guru” within the organisation, the Sangh holds the tricolour in high regard. “We always respect, offer tribute, and protect our tricolour,” he said.

His remarks came after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge called for a ban on the RSS, questioning its registration and funding.

Bhagwat reiterated that the RSS stays away from electoral politics. “We do not participate in vote politics, current politics, or election politics. Sangh’s work is to unite society, and politics by nature is divisive,” he said.

However, he noted that the RSS supports “policies, not parties or individuals.” Citing the Ram Mandir movement, he said Sangh volunteers supported it as a national cause. “If Congress or any other party had supported it, we would have supported them as well. There is no Sangh party; no party is ours, and all parties are ours because they are Bharatiya parties,” he added.

On India-Pakistan relations, Bhagwat said the Sangh always desires peace, but blamed Islamabad for continued hostility. “It is Pakistan which doesn’t want peace. As long as it derives satisfaction from harming Bharat, it will keep trying. But if it breaches peace, it will not succeed,” he said, reminding Pakistan of the 1971 war. “It is better to cooperate than to fight, but if they don’t understand that, we must respond in the language they understand.”

Addressing caste issues, Bhagwat said there is no casteism, only “caste confusion” arising from electoral politics and reservation benefits. “We don’t need to eradicate caste; we need to forget it. Each of us can start by doing that individually,” he said.

On the issue of “love jihad”, Bhagwat advised against obsession over others’ actions. Instead, he urged people to cultivate “Hindu samskara” at home to strengthen social values.