Chicago – May 13, 2026
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu nationalist group linked to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political movement, has launched an international outreach campaign to counter criticism over minority rights in India. According to Reuters, RSS leaders have been visiting countries including the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom to challenge accusations that the organization promotes intolerance and violence against minorities.
The move follows a report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom that accused the RSS of involvement in “extreme violence and intolerance” against minority groups over decades. RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale rejected claims that the organization is a paramilitary or Hindu supremacist group, saying foreign visits aim to “dispel misconceptions.”
Critics, including opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, argue that the RSS promotes a divisive majoritarian ideology that threatens India’s secular foundations. The organization, founded in 1925, has been banned multiple times in India, including after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by a former RSS member in 1948.
