RSS pitching for Pakistan dialogue

way2barak, June 22:  Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has made a strong case for dialogue with “the people of Pakistan”. While RSS functionaries insist there is “nothing new” in this position, discussions within a section of the organisation and among former diplomats sympathetic to it suggest that the geopolitical churn is paving the way for realism.

On his return from the US, RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale first spoke of the need to “keep the communication channel open with Pakistan” in an interview. Later, Sarsanghchalak (chief) Mohan Bhagwat endorsed Hosabale’s views at an interaction with the media in Thiruvananthapuram. While Bhagwat is the public face of the RSS, Hosabale as general secretary is its executive head.

As part of its centenary celebrations, through which it has sought a wider domestic outreach, Bhagwat visited several cities—first major metros and then influential State capitals—for a Vyakhyan or lecture series, presenting the RSS worldview to cross-sections of society. This year-long exercise concludes on Vijayadashami in October 2026.

While Bhagwat focussed on domestic audiences, Hosabale reached out to international platforms and interacted with a few think tanks, including the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. This foreign engagement came in the backdrop of the organisation inviting a large number of global opinion writers at last year’s Vijayadashami celebrations in Nagpur, while Bhagwat’s three-day lecture series in New Delhi at the Vigyan Bhawan was attended by scores of foreign diplomats. The goal, according to a section of RSS functionaries, is to “influence the perspectives of global opinion makers and change their views of India positively”.

All RSS offices without exception display portraits of “Mother India”. In these portraits, the map shows an India whose boundaries include Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. This explains the RSS’ core belief that the people of the South Asian subcontinent constitute “one nation”.

The RSS has in the past taken a hard line against anyone who defies this belief. L.K. Advani, on returning from his 2005 visit to Pakistan, faced a major backlash—originating largely from the RSS—for his praise of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He resigned as BJP president, though a patch-up with the Nagpur leadership followed.

As Hosabale made the case for dialogue with the people of Pakistan, he  told “The people of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh constitute one nation.” A senior RSS functionary, explaining this position, said the organisation had consistently “rejected the two-nation theory” by anchoring its vision of the nation in a people with common ancestry.

“The DNA is common. The people have the same ancestry. The common heritage bonds the people. This can be understood if the history of the subcontinent is read from the beginning, and not just from the medieval age,” said a senior RSS leader.

RSS leaders have also been following closely a project undertaken by the Lahore administration under which streets are being restored to their pre-Partition names. Islampura in Lahore was renamed Krishan Nagar. Rehman Gali became Ram Gali. Babri Masjid Chowk was renamed Jain Mandir Chowk. The project, overseen under Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, has faced backlash from hardliners, but the intent to recognise past heritage has stirred interest in Nagpur.

“By giving back non-Islamic names to streets and colonies as they were known before Pakistan came into existence, the Lahore administration has revealed that the idea of a common heritage has recognition and support of the people there,” said another senior RSS functionary.

The contrast with BJP-ruled civic bodies in India is not lost on observers. In the national capital, streets are being renamed by replacing the original names of Mughal-era landmarks.