Can Muslims Join The RSS? Here’s RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Response

Addressing the issue of whether Muslims can join the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), its chief Mohan Bhagwat explained individuals from all faiths, including Muslims and Christians, were welcome as long as they set aside their separateness and came forward as "sons of Bharat Mata" and "members of Hindu society".

He was speaking at a two-day lecture series titled "100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons.”

He said, “No Brahmin is allowed in the Sangh. No other caste is allowed in the Sangh. No Muslim is allowed, no Christian is allowed in the Sangha. Only Hindus are allowed. So people with different denominations, Muslims, Christians, any denomination, can come to the Sangha, but keep your separateness out. Your speciality is welcome. But when you come inside the shakha, you come as a son of Bharat Mata, a member of this Hindu society.”

Bhagwat emphasised membership to the Sangh was not based on caste or religion, and that they embraced unity above these distinctions. 

"Muslims come to the shakha, Christians come to the shakha, as all other castes from the routinely called Hindu society, they also come to the shakha. But we don't take their count, and we don't ask who they are. We are all sons of Bharat Mata. That is how the Sangha works," he added.

The RSS’s philosophy, he said, is grounded in the principles of unity and inclusiveness, built around the concept of a common national identity that transcends individual religious or cultural differences.

Bhagwat also addressed the controversy over the RSS's registration as an organisation under Indian law. “The sangh was started in 1925. Do you expect us to register with the British government? After Independence, the laws did not make registration compulsory. A legal status is also given to a 'body of individuals'. We are categorised as a body of individuals and we are a recognised organisation.”