 Early Times Report
Jammu, July 5: Marking its 100th year of foundation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is going to scale up its outreach and organizational activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
As part of its Shatabdi Varsh (Centenary Year) celebrations, the Sangh will organize a series of special programmes in the Union Territory, with a renewed focus on engaging the youth.
Sources said that many decisions were taken during the ongoing Prant Pracharak Baithak, an annual conference of provincial organizers, currently being held in New Delhi, regarding such programmes.
This year’s meeting, which began on Friday, carries unusual political and strategic significance, not only due to its timing and venue but also in the context of RSS's continued interest in Jammu and Kashmir—a region it has long considered central to its ideological and national mission.
The RSS has deep historical ties with Jammu and Kashmir. Its first shakha in the region was established in 1940 in Jammu, with the support of Prof. Balraj Madhok. Jagdish Abrol, who came from Sialkot, was the first pracharak deployed to the region, initiating RSS activities from Dewan Mandir in Jammu city.
The RSS began expanding its network in Jammu and Kashmir in the 1940s, particularly during the turbulent period around India's partition in 1947. Balraj Madhok, a prominent RSS pracharak (full-time worker), played a significant role in establishing and expanding the RSS network in the Kashmir Valley during this time.
Madhok, who joined the RSS in 1938 and became a pracharak in 1942, moved to Srinagar as a lecturer at DAV College and worked to strengthen the organization's presence.
In the late 1930s, the undivided Punjab, including adjoining parts of J&K, had become a hotbed of patriotic fervor. Madhav Rao Muley, the then Prant Pracharak, sent several dedicated activists—including Kedar Nath Sahani—to expand the RSS network in the state.
Local youth such as Shyam Lal Sharma, Durga Dass Verma, and Dr. Om Parkash Mengi played a key role in spreading the Sangh The Sangh will organize a series of special programmes in the Union Territory, with a renewed focus on engaging the youth.
Many decisions were taken during the ongoing Prant Pracharak Baithak in New Delhi regarding such programmes.
This year’s meeting carries unusual political and strategic significance, not only due to its timing and venue but also in the context of RSS's continued interest in Jammu and Kashmir.
The RSS has deep historical ties with Jammu and Kashmir. Its first shakha in the region was established in 1940 in Jammu.
The first RSS karyalaya was set up at Ved Mandir in Jammu. Though initially perceived as an organization of teenagers, the RSS gained greater traction after Pandit Prem Nath Dogra agreed to serve as the Sanghchalak of the state in the early 1940s. A grand function was held in Jammu to mark the occasion, attended by senior RSS leaders. The RSS has played a crucial role in Jammu and Kashmir’s political evolution. During the accession crisis of 1947, when tensions flared between Maharaja Hari Singh and Jawaharlal Nehru over handing power to Sheikh Abdullah, it was the then RSS chief Guruji Golwalkar who met the Maharaja on the request of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, seeking to assure him of support for full accession to India.
When Pakistan invaded J&K in October 1947, RSS Swayamsevaks stood shoulder to shoulder with the Dogra and Indian armies. They helped construct roads, bridges, and airstrips, and even assisted in transporting arms and ammunition air-dropped by the Indian Air Force—many losing their lives in the process.
The RSS was also the first organization to formally oppose Article 370 in 1952. Its members actively participated in the Praja Parishad agitation against the special status provision, during which Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, was arrested and later died in custody—a political sacrifice.
As part of the centenary celebrations, the RSS is now focusing on strengthening its grassroots presence across Jammu and Kashmir.
The RSS views youth engagement as critical to its vision. “The Shatabdi Varsh is not just a celebration of the past, but a commitment to the future,” an RSS functionary stated. “Jammu and Kashmir will play a key role in shaping that future.”
With its ideological, cultural, and historical foundations deeply embedded in the region, the Sangh’s expansion in J&K signals a renewed drive to reinforce its nationalist agenda in this strategically vital part of India. |
