AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has strongly criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent praise for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), challenging the organization’s claims of contributing to India’s freedom struggle and questioning its historical role in nation-building.
Speaking at a public event, Owaisi took exception to Modi’s remarks following RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s annual Vijayadashami address. The Prime Minister had described Bhagwat’s speech as “inspiring,” and lauded the RSS for its role in shaping the country and unlocking its “innate potential.” The organization, founded in 1925, is currently marking its centenary.
Rejecting the narrative presented by Modi, Owaisi argued that the RSS had no significant involvement in India’s fight for independence. He claimed that no member of the organization was known to have gone to jail or sacrificed their life for the country after the RSS was established. Drawing from the biography of RSS founder K.B. Hedgewar, Owaisi said that Hedgewar’s participation in the 1930 Dandi March was not a genuine act of protest, but a strategic move to eventually expand the reach of the Sangh.
Owaisi further stated that official British records indicate the RSS posed no threat to colonial rule and did not participate in the freedom movement. He cited articles from the RSS’s own publication, Organizer, claiming that the magazine had criticized the national flag on the eve of independence in 1947, calling its three colors “inauspicious.” He added that the publication also rejected the Indian Constitution when it was adopted in 1949, allegedly advocating for the ancient Manusmriti instead.
He continued his critique by referring to writings of former RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar. In Bunch of Thoughts, Owaisi claimed, Golwalkar had described Muslims, Christians, and the political Left as internal threats to India, an ideology Owaisi argued continues to inform the Sangh’s worldview.
Highlighting the role of Indian Muslims in the freedom struggle, Owaisi reminded the audience that the first person sent to the notorious ‘Kala Pani’ penal settlement in the Andaman Islands was Maulvi Allauddin Rahmatullah from Hyderabad, long before the RSS came into being.
In a separate remark, Owaisi responded to the recent controversy in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, where police filed an FIR against individuals for displaying banners saying “I Love Muhammad” during an Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession. He questioned the selective outrage, noting that while saying “I love Modi” draws no objection, expressing love for Prophet Muhammad seems to attract police action.
Owaisi’s comments come amid ongoing public debate over the RSS’s legacy, its relationship with India’s nationalist narrative, and its influence in contemporary political discourse.
