RSS at 100: Sangh Patiently Accumulated Power Without a Führer, But Modi Cult May Be Its Undoing

Name: RSS at 100: Sangh Patiently Accumulated Power Without a Führer, But Modi Cult May Be Its Undoing - The Wire
Uploaded: 2025-10-01T08:52:49+05:30
Channel: The Wire
Description: Leading political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot is in conversation with Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire about the origins and foundational thinking of the Sangh.

Leading political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot is in conversation with Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire about the origins and foundational thinking of the Sangh.

Christophe Jaffrelot

Siddharth Varadarajan

Leading political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot is in conversation with Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire about the origins and foundational thinking of the Sangh.

rss at 100 sangh patiently accumulated power without a führer but modi cult may be its undoing

RSS volunteers take part in a rally on the occasion of 'Mahalaya', the last day of 'Pitru Paksha', in Agartala, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. Photo: PTI.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh turned 100 on September 27, 2025. What has its journey as a political organisation involved over the past century, as it moved from being on the margins of national politics to controlling state power?

Leading political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot is in conversation with Siddharth Varadarajan of The Wire about the origins and foundational thinking of the Sangh, how it both aligns with – and differs from – classical fascism and authoritarianism, and what the future portends for the organisation, and for India. Jaffrelot is a professor at Sciences Po in France and author of numerous books on Indian politics.

This in-depth conversation was recorded in Paris on September 24, 2025.

This article went live on October first, two thousand twenty five, at fifty-two minutes past eight in the morning.

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