India: For 25 days between May 15 and June 8, the Hedgewar Smarak Samiti in Reshimbagh was home to 914 men — in the 18-to-40 age group

The Economic Times

In Sangh Country: 25 days, 914 men and full brown pants
By Prerna Katiyar, ET Bureau | Updated: Jun 11, 2017, 10.34 AM IST

The guest list included Anand Mahindra, Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal and his cabinet colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma. No, this wasn’t an investment mela to woo industrialists to the northeastern state. Rather, this was an event in the heart of India, in Nagpur, the shraddha kendra (or place of reverence) for the 4.5 lakh-odd members nationwide of the 92-year-old Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

For 25 days between May 15 and June 8, the Hedgewar Smarak Samiti in Reshimbagh was home to 914 men — in the 18-to-40 age group — who were ready to be anointed as Sangh workers after short periods of training spread across three years. They came from far and wide — from all 42 prant or provinces of the nation, from varied professions, including business, services, farming, engineering and medicine.

All of them bore the expenses and followed a strict routine that started from 4 am till 10 pm. The course material for the final year: teamwork, renunciation, discipline and devotion towards a larger cause. The participants get trained in dand (staff ), niyudha (unarmed combat), ghosh (band), vyayam yoga (physical exercise), yogasana (yoga) and the like. RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat in the valedictory address on Thursday expressed confidence that the trainees will live up to rising expectations.

The 25-day camp was significant for another reason: it was the first training camp that witnessed the change in uniform from khaki knickers to “full brown pants”.

ET Magazine travelled to Nagpur, and caught up with RSS patriarch MG Vaidya and his son Manmohan Vaidya, who is the publicity chief, and took a peek into Hedgewar Bhavan, the headquarters in the Mahal area of Nagpur.
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