Swayamsevak

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In September 2025, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) completed a hundred years. Founded in 1925 by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar with a small group of handpicked young men, the Sangh sought to reinvigorate Hindu society through sangathan (organization) and seva (service).

What sustains the RSS a hundred years on? Who are the individuals who animate this vast and enduring organization? Are they conservative or modern, privileged or marginal, urban or rural? Swayamsevak explores these questions in depth.

At its heart are ten compelling life stories of nine swayamsevaks and one sevika. Through these intimate portraits, the book foregrounds the everyday experiences, moral worlds, and motivations that shape their journeys, revealing the discipline, commitment to service, and quiet conviction that sustain the Sangh’s remarkable continuity and expansion.

By restoring the swayamsevak to the centre of the narrative, this book opens up a rich and largely unexplored terrain and offers a nuanced and deeply human window into the RSS.