Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

RSS is respected a lot abroad, says Ayyar

Staff Reporter

The international joint coordinator of the Sangh wanted to know why it was being viewed through tinted glass in India despite massive social activities

Ravikumar Ayyar

TIRUPATI : "Being associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its frontal outfits is considered a stigma in our country, but they are respected a lot abroad. RSS is branded as a fundamentalist organisation, which we are not'', insists Ravikumar Ayyar, international joint-coordinator of the Sangh (Mumbai).

Mr. Ayyar was here to take part in the intellectuals meet held as part of the centenary celebrations of RSS stalwart Guru Golwalkar, when he had an informal chat with The Hindu on Wednesday.

Sharp reaction

Brushing aside the knee-jerk reaction of political parties to the Sangh's activities, he expressed surprise over the announcement, reportedly made by Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh to consider closing down RSS-run educational institutions. Reacting sharply, he wanted to know why the Sangh, which had completed 75,000 social activities in the last 25 years, was being viewed with a "tinted glass" in India.

The engineer from Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), who is in charge of the 750 weekly youth gatherings and Bala Gokulams in 40 countries, explained that the RSS was being treated with utmost respect for its social activities in Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia, where he had served as a full-time worker for 22 years till 2004.

"Our activists are eligible for free first-class train travel in Myanmar, while Australia and Canada take our consent regarding projects relating to the Hindus. Social activities . are spearheaded by the Sangh in western countries which has developed a closely-knit social fabric among the NRIs. "If people oppose our activities, all this would not have been possible", he pointed out and attributed the verbal attack by `netas' to "political compulsions".

He maintained that the youth was increasingly leaning towards spiritualism and called it a good augury for the society. "In Singapore, youngsters who drink and make merry in discos on Saturday nights, read Bhagavad Gita the entire week. ". Mr. Ayyar lauded the activists in 1,700 branches of the State for taking education and health services to the most inaccessible corners of the State.

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RSS is respected a lot abroad, says Ayyar

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