Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has addressed ongoing questions about why the organisation is neither formally registered nor fully taxed. Speaking at an event in Bengaluru on Saturday, Bhagwat said the RSS operates differently from conventional institutions and that this approach has been consistent since its founding in 1925.
“Many things are not registered. Even Hindu dharma is not registered,” Bhagwat told the media. He added that the RSS has faced government bans three times in the past. This, in his view, demonstrates official recognition of its existence.
“If we were not there, whom did they ban?” he asked rhetorically.
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Bhagwat pointed out that the RSS predates India’s independence and questioned whether it could have been registered with the British government when it was established in 1925. “After independence, registration was not made compulsory,” he said.
The question of taxation was another topic Bhagwat addressed. He claimed that the income tax department and courts have recognised the RSS as “a body of individuals” rather than a conventional organisation seeking profit. This classification, he said, has exempted it from paying taxes. Speaking the day before in Bengaluru, he emphasised that the RSS’s purpose is not political power, but “to organise Hindu society for the glory of the nation.”
Bhagwat also reflected on the RSS’s understanding of Hindu identity. According to him, all Indians are part of a shared cultural heritage, regardless of their religion. “There is no ‘Ahindu’ in India,” he said, adding that the country’s core culture is Hindu. And according to him, everyone including Muslims and Christians, shares common ancestors.
Bhagwat emphasised that the RSS does not see itself as a reactionary or oppositional force. Instead, he described it as an organisation “of the society, not in the society.” He explained that the focus is on individual development as a way to strengthen and organise the broader community.