New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allocated Rs 76.13 lakh for print media advertisements marking the 100-year milestone of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a right-to-information reply.
RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose sought details on the expenditure for commemorating the Hindu nationalist organisation, founded in 1925 as a volunteer body. The ministry's response confirmed: "An amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS."
The RSS, which describes itself as an unregistered body of individuals rather than a formal group, has faced scrutiny over financial transparency and funding sources.
At the "100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons" event in Bengaluru, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat defended its status. Founded before Independence, he said registration with the British authorities would have contradicted its principles. "Do you know the Sangh was started in 1925? Do you expect us to be registered with the British government, against whom our Sarsanghchalak (KB Hedgewar) was fighting at the time? After Independence, Indian laws did not make registration compulsory."
Bhagwat stressed: "The legal status is also given to an unregistered body of individuals. We are categorised as a body of individuals. We are a recognised organisation." He cited three past government bans—each overturned by courts—as evidence of official recognition. "We were banned thrice. So the government has recognised us. If we weren’t there, who did they ban? And each time, courts dismissed the ban and made RSS a legal organisation."