New Delhi: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has decided to hold a day-long interactive session with the foreign media, a move aimed to change the “stereotypical perceptions” of the Sangh abroad.
Bhagwat will meet foreign media personnel based in Delhi on 24 September and field questions on the Sangh’s ideology, views on contemporary politics, economy and on “everything under the sun”, said a functionary.
The RSS has been concerned that the foreign media has often described it as a “right-wing Hindu nationalist” organisation, a “violent Hindu organisation” or an outfit indulging in hypernationalism.
“We didn’t bother with what The Washington Post or The New York Times wrote about us earlier,” said the RSS functionary. “But, in today’s internet age, what they write is available to everyone in India.”
Besides, given the RSS-affiliated organisations’ “massive expansion” in other countries, the Sangh has grown conscious of what is written about it. The RSS has a presence in over 50 countries but it is largely operating there as the ‘Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh’.
“Earlier, the Sangh was also not really concerned over what the foreign press wrote or the way they viewed the RSS. But with social media whatever is written in those publications reaches the common masses too,” said a senior RSS functionary. “They (foreign media) have a certain view of the Sangh, its ideologies and activities. The interaction is aimed at correcting the misconceptions.”
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Bhagwat to speak for an hour and then field questions
Another functionary said Bhagwat will deliver a one-hour talk following which the interaction with the foreign press will take place. “This interaction will give the RSS an opportunity to talk about its past, present and what it expects to do in the future,” said the functionary. “At the same time, the chief will talk about the kind of activities RSS and its affiliated organisations take part in for the welfare of the people and the environment.”
“The foreign media often describes the RSS as a militant, sectarian group that believes in the supremacy of Hindus. That we are anti-minorities whether it’s the Christians or Muslims,” the functionary added. “Whenever the RSS is mentioned abroad, the image is of a hyper-nationalist organisation. Their understanding is far removed from reality.”
Another RSS functionary pointed out that soon after the Lok Sabha results, a section of the international media began publishing a number of articles against the Sangh, something which the RSS has been closely observing.
“Criminal incidents were given a twist deliberately to give a message that as BJP was in power minorities were being targeted by militant Hindu groups,” he said. “One can’t just ignore such propaganda.”
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