Sangh is focusing on Gen Z and digital outreach mechanisms, while volunteers are also being trained in the use of technology.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma raised an important issue over the growing discourse around Gen Z and Gen Alpha during a book launch programme at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters, ‘Keshav Kunj’, in New Delhi. Rejecting both categories as entirely a “Western and European concept”, he said, “There is no concept of Gen Z or Gen Alpha in our country. These words come from America and Europe; we have nothing to do with that culture.” He emphasised, “For me, the youth of our country and Assam are not ‘Gen Z’ or ‘Gen Alpha’, but our own sons and daughters. We will not divide our children into any category.” He said Indian society has traditionally understood generations through family relationships, such as parents, grandparents, sons and daughters. Therefore, have increasingly limited themselves to publicity on social media. This is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly tells MPs, MLAs and other leaders in meetings that they need to go among the people and reach households directly. Ultimately, it was because of their connection with the people that the RSSBJP became stronger and came to power across north-western India as well as the Northeast. instead of confining children within such Western labels, he said, “we should live together as one family” and work for the welfare of children and the progress of the country. After the book launch, he shared the same observation while interacting with journalists from Gujarat, including Somnath, and other media representatives. In recent years, Himanta Biswa Sarma has emerged not merely as a Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Minister but also as an influential political figure articulating Indian social values, traditions and the culture of Hindutva. He may perhaps never have been an RSS volunteer, but having risen from an active Congress worker to a top political leader, he has developed a deep understanding of the damage caused to Assam and India by foreign forces and organisations. Even at the book launch programme, he presented his views with greater humility and firmness than many others, while speakers associated with the Sangh continued to deliver formal speeches referring to Gen Z and Gen Alpha. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has also acknowledged the need for the organisation to expand digitally in keeping with modern social conditions. According to a report, the Sangh is focusing on Gen Z and digital outreach mechanisms, while volunteers are also being trained in the use of technology. At the same time, Bhagwat has warned that the organisation should not become merely publicity-oriented. This is a very interesting contradiction. In recent years, this internal tension within the RSS-BJP ecosystem has increasingly become both a challenge and a potential threat. There is no doubt that the Sangh chief, his colleague Dattatreya Hosabale and several pracharaks continue to emphasise the organisation’s core values and ideology. While there are dedicated people in both organisations, there are also those who are increasingly engaged in seeking positions and fulfilling personal interests through proximity to power. This is affecting the organisation’s image. Recently, following pressure from outside forces and organisations behind the “Cockroach Party” movement at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, some government leaders had to adopt the Gen Z narrative. But what contribution have the youth organisations associated with the BJP and the Sangh, which have benefited from political power, made towards struggling for and supporting students’ problems? The reality is that, like several BJP leaders, many second- and third-rung leaders and workers The book titled ‘Grit and Glory’, launched by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, highlights the contribution of people from Assam and the Northeast who worked with the Sangh with great dedication and selflessness and contributed to social transformation in the region. The book focuses on the history of Northeast India, its challenges and the social changes that have taken place there. It particularly brings together the experiences of RSS pracharaks and workers associated with its organisations who worked under difficult circumstances. These individuals travelled to extremely remote and unfamiliar areas without any established network or resources. Despite difficult living conditions, threats from militant groups, physical attacks and other hardships, they continued their work of social service and nation-building. The region has often been viewed only through the prism of conflict, separatism or insurgency. But the book demonstrates that society does not change only through government policies or institutions; it also changes through the courage, perseverance and spirit of service of people who work quietly on the ground. Within the Sangh, the very meaning of a pracharak was to give up personal comforts and devote oneself fully to the organisation. A pracharak would often lead a simple life, travel from one place to another, stay at workers’ homes, travel by bicycle, bus or train, and maintain continuous personal contact with the local society. His greatest strength was not a mobile phone, social media or a large office, but person-toperson contact. That is why old pracharaks, whenever they arrived in a city, would visit the homes of journalists, teachers, businessmen, farmers, students, doctors, lawyers and local social workers and spend hours talking to them. Networks were gradually built through shakhas and small meetings. At the old Sangh office in Jhandewalan, Delhi, pracharaks could not be distinguished by their positions. As a journalist, I had several opportunities to visit the office from 1972 onwards. Through senior pracharak Chamanlalji, it was not difficult to meet even the Sarsanghchalak. Long interviews with Professor Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) and K. C. Sudarshanji would take place in a small room, sitting on ordinary chairs. Before the construction of the new buildings and towers, pracharaks would sleep simply on cots in their rooms or halls and eat while sitting on the floor. Last week, for the first time, I had the opportunity to see the office with its grand buildings during the book launch programme on the Northeast. The security arrangements outside appeared more elaborate than those at a government ministry or even a corporate company. The fivestar ambience made it clear how much the Sangh has changed. As part of its centenary-year plans, the Sangh has set a target of reaching every village and every household and organising Hindu conferences in approximately 58,964 mandals and 44,055 settlements. But the way of working is certainly changing. Earlier, a pracharak’s influence was built primarily through local organisation and personal relationships. Today, a senior pracharak has access to facilities such as a large organisational office, better travel arrangements, digital communication, WhatsApp groups, video conferencing, social media teams, media outreach and coordination with various organisations. The modern building is also a symbol of this transformation. ‘Keshav Kunj’ has been developed not merely as an office building but as a multipurpose complex for organisational activities, training, accommodation, publishing, study and large programmes. Its redevelopment is reported to have cost around Rs 150 crore. The Keshav Kunj complex has three towers—‘Sadhana’, ‘Prerna’ and ‘Archana’. Each tower has 12 floors apart from the ground floor. Together, they have around 300 rooms and office spaces. The three large auditoriums are reported to have a combined capacity of more than 1,300 people. Similarly, the redevelopment process of the Smriti Mandir complex at the Sangh headquarters in Nagpur, estimated at around Rs 300 crore, has also recently begun. Its main objective is to modernise the old infrastructure and create larger and modern facilities for the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha to be held in Nagpur in 2027. From this perspective, the biggest challenge before the RSS-BJP in its new form will be to balance old values with modern ideas while maintaining a living and direct connection with the people.
