The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is set to launch a new outfit, Vimarsh, ahead of its centenary celebrations that begin next year to focus on narrative building, people aware of the details said on Wednesday.
The decision to announce Vimarsh was taken at a meeting of the Sangh’s highest decision-making body, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, that concluded on Tuesday in Haryana’s Samalkha.
“Vimarsh, which means narrative in Hindi, is an attempt to bolster the Sangh’s ongoing efforts to steer the narrative about the organisation and its core ideology, the activities undertaken by its affiliated offshoots and its position on various issues, including government policies,” said a person aware of the details.
To be sure, the RSS, which is the ideological fount of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), distances itself from electoral politics but sends senior functionaries as general secretaries and in coordination roles to the political party.
According to another person, Vimarsh will be overseen by senior functionaries who have held positions in various offshoots.
“The body will have senior functionaries from across the country, who will meet periodically and oversee the work of narrative building, countering myths and propaganda and fake news about the Sangh and its various arms,” said a functionary.
Among senior leaders who will be part of Vimarsh are Mukul Kanitkar, who was relieved of his responsibility as the joint organising secretary of the Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal (BSM), an affiliate that was instrumental in pushing for a new education policy that would be “India-centric”. The BSM also set up the Nagpur-based Research for Resurgence Foundation that advocates research in India-centric studies and subjects, claiming to be the “largest network of academic institutions with over 200 universities and institutes including IITs, NITs, IIMs, AICTE”…
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