Sangh’s youth brigade — How RSS is wooing Gen Z

FRom the structured simple mindedness of a morn exercise to the racy debates on unreal intelligence at the evening shakhas, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is strategically adapting its decades-old framework to resonate with India’s Gen Z. This shift is not merely cosmetic; in bustling metropolitan hubs like Pune, the RSS, now in its centennial year, is making a concerted push to secure the next generation of leadership and volunteers.At Model Colony, an upscale Pune neighbourhood, 18-year-old student of computer engineering Soham Joshi is on the frontline of this engagement. He is the head of the Damodar shakha, the third generation of his family to be associated with the RSS. He took charge of the Damodar shakha, when he was 15 and has since built a steady membership of around 20-25 teenagers who attend regularly. “The registered number of teenagers is far higher though,” he adds. The shakha, Soham says, is an antidote to the mounting pressures of modern, competitive life.The focus for these shakhas is evolving beyond just physical training, says Soham. Their evening discussions revolve around politics, social issues and challenges posed by AI. “Games, poetry, songs, debates form the core of the gatherings.” He organises regular tiffin parties, walkathons and dinners. “Anything that can add to our bond,” says Soham. This blend of physical activity and intellectual stimulation is the key to maintaining the shakha’s relevance, “especially at a time when avenues for evening leisure are aplenty,” he adds.Across the country, there are three types of daily shakhas — one for teenagers, another for youngsters (both called Sayam Shakhas as they are held in the evening), and third is Prabhat shakha where largely the elders participate in the morning.According to RSS publicity chief Sunil Ambekar, the Sangh network has crossed beyond 83,000 shakhas across the country. “When RSS began in Nagpur, there were only 17 members in the shakha. Now we have over 83,000 daily shakhas in addition to 32,000 weekly meetings across the country,” Ambekar said.Soumitra Mandke, a 24-year-old post-graduate in Sanskrit who heads the Bal vibhag at the Vivekanand Sayam Shakaha at Pune’s Bibwewadi, highlights a key shift that he has noticed since the time he first joined the shakha as a 13-year-old which is a surge in the number of first-generation members. At his Vivekanand Sayam shakha, many children come from families with no prior association with the RSS. The parents, often citing concerns about excessive mobile phone usage, are encouraging their children to attend shakhas for physical activities and cultivating discipline.The Sangh’s outreach to Gen Z has become more structured with an emphasis on inter-shakha competitions like chess tournaments and athletic competitions. These shakhas conduct as many as 200 games annually which is a major attraction for the young, says Mandke.The Sangh is also investing heavily in retention and support. Young shakha pramukhs like Mandke or Soham personally meet with individuals wanting to dropout to understand their reasons and address concerns. While Soham asserts that they do not persuade a child whose parents actively object to the shakha, the effort to retain members is considerable. If a youngster decides to break the association, a team of seniors, especially those with similar personal interests, will visit them in an attempt to convince them to re-join.The RSS network also provides a powerful safety net, says Mandke. If a member shifts residence, efforts are made to connect them with a shakha in their new area. This culture of immediate support was evident last month, says IT engineer Shreeram Ratnaparkhi who suddenly lost his father in Pune. A host of young RSS workers rallied around him, showcasing the utility of the network in cases of personal emergencies, he says.