by ANAND TELTUMBDE
The founding of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in 1925 in Nagpur – today celebrated as the ideological capital of Hindu nationalism – carries a deep historical irony.
The conventional narrative presents the RSS as formed primarily in response to Hindu-Muslim riots and the perceived threat of Muslim domination. While this communal dimension is real and well-documented, it obscures an equally – if not more – important motivation: the Brahminical elite’s response to the rising tide of anti-caste movements threatening their social, economic, and political dominance. Understanding RSS formation requires examining both threats simultaneously: the external threat of Muslim political assertion and the internal threat of lower-caste liberation movements challenging Brahminical supremacy.
The founding of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1925 in Nagpur – today celebrated as the ideological capital of Hindu nationalism – carries a deep historical irony. Nagpur in the early 20th century was not merely a provincial town in Central India; it was a site of intense social transformation. The region had witnessed the spread of Jotiba Phule’s Satyashodhak Samaj, the rise of non-Brahmin movements, and the emergence of early Dalit political activity. Far from being a tabula rasa for Hindu unity, it was a crucible of caste contestation and anti-Brahmin ferment. Against this backdrop, the RSS’s rhetoric of Hindu ekata (Hindu unity) can be read less as an inclusive reformulation of Hindu identity and more as a strategic counter-revolution – a project to neutralise the twin challenges posed by Muslim assertion and Dalit/non-Brahmin mobilisation.
Dalit mobilisation in Vidarbha
During the colonial times many people from Mahar community attained prosperity in Vidarbha region and they naturally extended themselves towards social uplift. History of Dalit movement in the region as documented by M.L. Kosare testifies to these activities from 1884.
He writes that there was a functional network of Mahars all over Vidarbha that was active in welfare and reform activities. Apart from this, it also aimed to sensitise others about the plight and the human rights of the Untouchables in a lawful manner and within the framework of the Hindu society. There emerged many remarkable local leaders like Kisan Fagoji Bansode but there were parallel networks influenced by the Mahatma Phule, Gopal Baba Walangkar, and Shivram Janba Kamble from Western Maharashtra. There was also a significant following of Vitthal Ramji Shinde among the Mahar leaders.
From the late 19th century, Vidarbha had been a vital node in the spread of the Satyashodhak movement, which rejected Brahminical authority and proclaimed the equality of all human beings. Phule’s radical critique of caste hierarchy found resonance among the Shudra and Dalit communities of the region. His followers established branches of the Satyashodhak Samaj across the Marathi-speaking districts of Nagpur, Amravati, and Wardha, carrying forward his programme of education, rationalism, and social equality.
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