Is the RSS above the law? |
Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge has decided to take the RSS bull by the horns. In a letter to Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat dated 13 June 2026, he writes: ‘An organisation that regularly [invokes] nationalism, discipline and duty must also demonstrate these values through transparency, compliance and respect for the Constitution of India.
‘The RSS cannot ask ordinary Indians to follow rules while exempting itself from the same standards. If workers, small associations, religious institutions, NGOs, trusts, companies and citizens are expected to register, disclose, [face] audits and pay taxes, then the RSS too must set an example by abiding by the rules of the land.’
It’s a monumental decision to question the extra-constitutional powers the Sangh enjoys by demanding that it disclose its legal status, its sources of funds and most importantly, why it should be exempt from the laws of the land.
The RSS officially claims it has over 60,000 shakhas and crores of cadre across India and abroad. Kharge writes: ‘It is precisely because of this scale, influence and reach that the RSS must be held to the highest standards of transparency, accountability and constitutional compliance.’
Speaking at an RSS centenary outreach event in Kerala, Bhagwat dismissed the letter as a “political gimmick”, declared he did not “need to respond”, that “Hindu Dharma is not registered”, that many other entities function without formal registrations and other such equivocations. The RSS claims to be a ‘body of individuals’, not registered under any statute, as a society, trust, NGO, company or political party.
The RSS has always maintained the fiction of being a voluntary ‘cultural organisation’. As per an editorial........