Pandemic effect: RSS changes mode of functioning, focuses on yoga, pranayama to boost immunity

Around 250 shakhas have also begun physically across the Konkan prant with physical distancing norms but are not playing games like kabaddi since they involve physical proximity

The Covid-19 pandemic induced lockdown has led to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) shakhas changing their mode of functioning.

(HT FILE PHOTO)

These shakhas or branches which were earlier held in open spaces, parks or grounds, are now being conducted in cyberspace using platforms like WebEx and Google Meet. Confirming to the requirements of this virtual medium and the need of the hour, these shakhas have changed their focus from physical games and exercises to include yoga and exercises and games meant to boost immunity and general knowledge.

“Earlier, our physical activities included games using the danda (lathi) like dandagol (where players from competing teams toss and catch a lathi to score a goal), atya-patya (a traditional game) and ‘Angad ka Pair’ (which involves testing the physical strength of participants by making them lift each other’s leg that is firmly planted on the ground),” said a senior RSS functionary, who is part of the physical training department of the organisation. “Now, we are focussing on yoga, pranayama and such exercises meant to boost immunity and respiratory health. The virtual shakhas also see games like performing maximum push-ups, Surya namaskars or squats in a certain time-limit like one minute,” he explained.

The newly designed games include those in which the names of icons have to be arranged in chronological order or rearranging their names from shuffled alphabets, recognising historical figures from their headgear and a quiz with questions based on religious epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata. The RSS office-bearer said that they had used an illustrated book on traditional Maharashtrian games that were published by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwar of Baroda and adapted some of these for their shakhas.

“It is the character of the Sangh to adapt to the times... As shakhas went online, the games too were upgraded and new activities introduced,” said Ajay Mudpe, prachar pramukh (propaganda chief) of the Konkan prant.

At present, while Mumbai has around 350 online and offline shakhas, each with an average attendance of 15 swayamsevaks, the Konkan prant, under which it falls, has about 700 shakhas, down from 450 and 900 respectively during pre-Covid times, said an RSS office-bearer. Around 250 shakhas have also begun physically across the Konkan prant with physical distancing norms but are not playing games like kabaddi since they involve physical proximity.

The shakhas are divided into bal (children), tarun (youth), vyavasayik (professionals) and saptahik milan (weekly sessions for professionals like those in the I.T sector) and further into Prabhat (morning), sayan (evening) and ratra (night) shakhas, based on their timings. While the normal shakhas are organised for one hour, the duration of the saptahik milan is one-and-half hours.

In April, a special program where shakhas were conducted online nationwide was attended by around 48 lakh participants, said another Sangh office-bearer.

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The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was started on Vijayadashmi Day in 1925 by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, Ganesh Damodar ‘Babarao’ Savarkar, Dr BS Moonje, Dr LV Paranjpe and Dr BB Tholkar.

The right-wing organisation got its present name in April 1926.

The RSS was banned after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948 and formed the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) in 1951 as the predecessor of the present-day Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The RSS is the ideological fountainhead of the BJP and other organisations in the larger Sangh Parivar universe.

At present, the RSS has around 52,000 operational shakhas across the country.

The Sangh’s organisational structure in Maharashtra is divided into four prants or regions, namely Konkan (including Mumbai), Vidarbha, Western Maharashtra, and Devgiri (Marathwada).