From Goodwill to Power and Wealth: Has the Sangh Lost Hedgewar’s Values, and Is a Gen-Z Overhaul the Only Cure?

When the country's young people take to the streets demanding basic rights, proper education, and jobs, they are met with brutal police truncheon charges. Yet the masterminds pulling the strings behind the scenes remain entirely silent.

It is telling that RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat recently saw fit to praise Gen-Z and the younger generation. He spoke as if taking credit for their protests was all it took to rescue the country's democracy. But the moment youth frustration turns into genuine outrage that threatens to shake the system, Nagpur’s leaders suddenly lose their voices. Clearly, Hedgewar’s founding principles have been completely abandoned within the Sangh.

Where were these RSS figures when police brutality was unleashed on the young at the subtle nod of Modi and Shah? When innocent students were battered by heavy-handed police tactics across premier universities, public streets, and exam halls, where was Bhagwat hiding? Daily press releases out of Nagpur insist: "We have nothing to do with the BJP or its party politics." Yet today, well over 80% of ministers in the government—from the Prime Minister and Home Secretary down to state Chief Ministers—are RSS cadres who rose to power directly through its ranks.

If the organization is to be reformed, the change must start within. But if Mohan Bhagwat’s own mindset is ever to change, it will take a full-scale Gen-Z movement to force his hand.

When youth movements gather steam, Mohan Bhagwat ought to be out in front leading them. Instead, where are he and his fellow leaders hiding?

When leaked exam papers and crippling unemployment ruin young lives, why don't the RSS's so-called moral guardians hold the government to account? Time and again, young people have poured their sweat and blood into mass protests, only to watch the political gains hijacked by politicians hungry for power. Carry on like this, and the younger generation will turn their backs on the Sangh for good.

Rather than accepting responsibility for the government's dismal administrative failures, the Sangh acts as its political shield instead of standing up for society. The youth know they have been sold out.

By keeping a calculated distance from youth anger, the RSS tries to ensure the next generation doesn't drift away entirely. They trade on young people's trust simply to lean on the BJP ahead of elections and secure massive vote banks.

For decades, the Sangh's leadership has played the same clever trick: claiming to be a purely cultural and social movement with no political ties. Yet across the country's universities, key academic and administrative posts are handed out based on RSS loyalties rather than genuine merit.

Today, the entire state machinery operates under the shadow of the Sangh. From the highest offices in central government down to regional leaders, RSS men hold the reins of power.

Look, too, at the staggering wealth the RSS has amassed—a spectacle that makes a mockery of its history. A sprawling headquarters worth £15 million (₹150 crore) was erected in Delhi’s Jhandewalan, named Keshav Kunj. Millions more were poured into upgrading their Nagpur complex. Where does all this money come from? The RSS is not a registered trust, nor does it publish audited accounts. Who funds it? Why are the nation's oligarchs laying fortunes at its feet?

The truth is straightforward: Modi and Bhagwat know precisely where the bodies are buried. They stage little public disagreements, but both understand they sink or swim together.

Once famous for austerity, simple cotton dhotis, and selfless dedication to early founders like Hedgewar and Golwalkar, today’s RSSwallahs wallow in immense riches and political influence, swanning around in luxury motorcades. If Bhagwat were truly as selfless as he claims, why does he require VIP armed security paid for out of the public purse?

The "Scripted" Narrative: A New 'Bhagwat Katha' Cooked Up with the Government

Political observers see this as nothing more than a political sham—a staged drama designed to manufacture fake conflict and an equally phony resolution. The whole thing is a carefully scripted melodrama choreographed by Mohan Bhagwat.

If Bhagwat were genuinely unhappy with the government's direction, he has the leverage to rewrite the political landscape overnight. But he won't move a finger. Whenever public anger against the BJP reaches boiling point, Bhagwat conveniently drops a public statement to convince people that "the Sangh is independent of the BJP and is giving the government a stern telling-off." The trick works just long enough for public anger to simmer down. In reality, every single line of this new 'Bhagwat Katha' is written sitting side by side with Modi.

Translated from Gujarat Samachar Print Edition