More than 150,000 Hindu nationalists gather for massive India rally

PUNE: More than 150,000 Hindu hardliners, all dressed in khaki shorts, white shirts and black hats, put on a massive show of strength at an elaborate rally in western India on Sunday.

It was the largest-ever gathering of the controversial Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a group seen as the ideological parent of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said.

Activists, all men, marched in unison with wooden staffs, chanted, sat in mass prayer and listened intently as RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat delivered a speech from a stage surrounded by walls designed to resemble a fort.

A marching band composed of 2,000 RSS volunteers also played while a giant saffron flag, the colour most associated with Hinduism, was hoisted on a post more than 20-metres high at the 182-hectre rally site at Pune in Maharashtra state.

Culture protectors

The RSS styles itself as a cultural organisation devoted to protecting India’s Hindu culture. But critics accuse it of being an anti-Muslim pseudo-fascist organisation with a history of fuelling religious tensions.

Analysts say its influence has never been greater than following the election in May 2014 of Modi, a former RSS foot-soldier. Attendees, who ranged in age from 15 to 102, were in bullish mood.

“People in the RSS look up to Modi as an example of what we can become. He gives our organisation a great image,” Vinayak Deshpande, 32, said.

The RSS, formed in 1925, is India’s biggest grass-roots level religious organisation, and is believed to have around five million activists, known as “Swayamsevaks”.

It is notoriously secretive — volunteers do not formally register as members. Shreerang Godbole, an RSS official, said it was the largest RSS camp ever held. Some 160,000 volunteers had registered to attend and practically all had turned up, organisers said.