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RSS to accept women in its fold
WHAT LAXMI Bai Kelkar aka Mausi ji had wanted from the then Rashtriya Sweyamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief in 1936 is set to be fulfilled now. After 81 years of male-dominance, the RSS has finally decided to bring women in its fold to increase base in the country. Acting pragmatically in this direction, the RSS would launch its first female shakha by the end of July in Kanpur city. However, the final shape to the strategy would be given in the meeting expected to be held in the first week of July.
WHAT LAXMI Bai Kelkar aka Mausi ji had wanted from the then Rashtriya Sweyamsewak Sangh (RSS) chief in 1936 is set to be fulfilled now. After 81 years of male-dominance, the RSS has finally decided to bring women in its fold to increase base in the country. Acting pragmatically in this direction, the RSS would launch its first female shakha by the end of July in Kanpur city. However, the final shape to the strategy would be given in the meeting expected to be held in the first week of July.
The RSS does have few women frontal wings like Durga Vahini and Rashtriya Sewika Samiti but direct women’s involvement was not allowed since its formation on September 27, 1925 till date.
Laxmi Bai Kelkar, popularly known as Mausiji, had requested RSS founder Dr Kesavram Baliram Hedgewar in 1936 to train women also into nationalism.
However, after few months, Dr Hedgewar declared the formation of a parallel women’s body Rashtriya Sewika Samiti with the same goal as that of the RSS but with an independent structure and a different prayer.
Similarly, Durga Vahini is known to be a frontal organisation of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Unlike the new move, Durga Vahini members have a set programme if ever they meet along with Saptahik Satsang programme.
However, women would now get direct entry in the RSS soon. RSS Prant Samanwayak Vasudev Vaswani, while talking to Hindustan Times, admitted that mahila shakhas would be introduced in Kanpur City soon. How and when the shakha would be introduced, would be decided at the meeting in the first week of July.
The female shakhas, according to RSS senior functionaries, would match the working from Dhwaj Pranam to sports activities as prevalent in the male shakhas already being organised throughout the country. The move is aimed at successfully increasing the membership of the RSS throughout the country.
Elaborating, a Sangh member said that the RSS had a firm belief that if women were motivated to follow the ideology of the Sangh, bringing rest of the family members would be a mere cakewalk. This would help the RSS to increase its base considerably.
Elaborating the reason, a RSS functionary said that women were more focused in their thinking as they had less diversions or distractions only because they mingled with lesser number of people in a day compared to the male members.
And if they were attracted towards the RSS ideology, they could easily ensure the same among their family members, which would subsequently result in more and more active RSS members.
Like male shakhas, RSS women shakhas would have a dress code — red bordered white sari — unlike Durga Vahini members who either woer white salwar-kameez with saffron dupatta or saffron sari. Each shakha would have 20 women members between the age of 20 and 50. These RSS women functionaries would also be trained about traditional self-defence art t ‘niyudh kala’ by trainers during the shakhas.
Knowing well that attracting women into RSS main fold would be a difficult task, in the first phase local office-bearers and active RSS members would be directed to bring women members of their families to the mahila shakhas. Besides, few BJP workers and leaders would also be asked to join mahila shakhas to attract women in the shakhas.
