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Bengaluru: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday dismissed questions over the Sangh’s legal status and its unregistered character, asserting that the organisation functions entirely within the ambit of the Indian Constitution and law.
Addressing a gathering of influencers on the concluding day of a two-day interaction in Bengaluru, Bhagwat said, “The law does not require or mandate registration. We are an unregistered body of individuals under the law. The Income Tax Department had once asked us to pay tax, but the courts exempted the guru dakshina we pay to the Sangh. So we are well within the constitutional and legal framework.”
He reiterated that the RSS—founded in 1925 by Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar—had never registered with the British government, and after Independence, no law made registration compulsory for such organisations. “The RSS manages its finances within the Sangh. Cadres and workers voluntarily contribute donations,” Bhagwat said, adding that transparency and self-reliance have always been the hallmark of the organisation’s functioning.
Responding to opposition allegations branding the Sangh as “unconstitutional,” Bhagwat said such claims stem from misunderstanding or political motives. “We have been banned thrice in history and each time the courts have lifted the ban. Had we not been a constitutional body, how could we be banned in the first place? So many statements for or against the RSS are made in Parliament. Can these be made if we are not a constitutional and legal organisation?”
In a lighter vein, Bhagwat drew a philosophical comparison: “The RSS is not registered—just as the Hindu Dharma is not registered.”
The remarks came amid renewed debate over the RSS’s structure, funding, and influence following its growing public interface and outreach programmes. Bhagwat’s comments are seen as a reaffirmation of the organisation’s legitimacy and a bid to clarify persistent misconceptions about its legal status and functioning.
