The RSS: 100 years, 2,500 organisations

For over a century, the RSS has operated not just as an ideological movement, but as a vast organisational network embedded in everyday life. From schools, hostels, labour unions, media houses, charities, and cultural forums, its reach extends into education, work, and communities.

A six-year research project led by Dr Felix Pal from the University of Western Australia mapped over 2,500 organisations linked to the Sangh across India and the world. The Caravan magazine fact-checked the data and published it as an interactive map, revealing how the RSS builds influence quietly through social infrastructure rather than just politics.

In this episode of Let Me Explain, Pooja Prasanna breaks down how the Sangh operates through schools, hostels, unions, media, and diaspora organisations, shaping communities and narratives both at home and abroad. Watch to understand how the RSS wields power through everyday institutions and a global network of affiliated organisations.

Produced by Megha Mukundan, Script by Pooja Prasanna, Edit by Nikhil Sekhar, Camera by Ajay R.

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