RSS affiliate gains foothold in IIOJK with help of Indian establishment
Srinagar: The Rashtriya Sainik Sanstha, an affiliate of the Hindutva organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has made inroads into occupied Kashmir with the help of the Indian establishment.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the group aims to indoctrinate students with Hindutva ideology in the name of providing basic military training and compel the people of occupied Jammu and Kashmir to chant “Jai Hind” in public places.
The RSS group organized a “Salute to Gallantry” program at the Convention Centre in Srinagar, which was inaugurated virtually by Indian army’s Lt Gen Gurmit Singh, the Governor of Uttarakhand. The program was attended by high-ranking Indian military officers, politicians, and Hindutva ideologues.
The group’s president, Col Tejendra Pal Tyagi, announced that his outfit’s objectives include reviving patriotism, respecting the families of martyred soldiers, and providing basic military training in schools. The event saw the release of a “Coffee Table Book” and the honoring of individuals for their contributions to the Hindutva cause.
A resolution was passed demanding that the government mandate the RSS group to provide basic military training in all schools on a fee-based basis.
This has raised concerns among Kashmiris, who see it as another attempt by the Indian government to impose its Hindutva agenda in the disputed territory.
It is worth noting that while indigenous Kashmiri groups and civil society are not allowed to hold functions, seminars, or conferences across the occupied territory, Hindutva extremist organizations like RSS and its affiliates are freely allowed to carry out their plans. RSS activists have even been known to take out military marches with arms in the streets of Jammu region.
