Bengal RSS camps see 60% rise in trainees in 2022

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) annual induction training camps in West Bengal this year have an average 60 per cent higher attendance of trainees than yesteryears, an intriguing observation for the local representatives, which can also turn heads for Sangh’s critics.

The RSS is holding around 50 Prathamik Shikha Borgo – primary level training camps – in West Bengal in October this year, an annual nationwide organisational affair, usually held after Bijoya Dashami (Dussehra). This year, the number of people enrolling in each camp has risen from 50 to 80, a 60 per cent increase. The seven-day camps open to people in the age group 14-40 are expected to equip 3,500-4,000 trainees in helping or establishing new shakhas in around 2,000 localities.

A regional RSS representative told DH that the higher number of people coming in for training reflects the current social and political situation of the state. “The procedure and planning of the camps in Bengal are not different from that in other states. There is no push. People seem to be affected by the scarce opportunities, and corruption,” he claimed.

An estimated 52,000 swayamsevaks formed Sangh’s strength in Bengal in the year 2000. Around 2010, this number climbed to 60,000. After the last 12 years, when Bengal saw a political transition, the Sangh has an estimated strength of 70,000 members.

Two of the camps are put up side-by-side, 42 km away from Kolkata in Howrah district’s Tantiberia, where over 150 swayamsevaks are in attendance. Trainees have had some exposure to the activities of the organisation, and after going through the engaging schedule — 4.15 am to 10.15 pm for seven days — they will be prepared to help in the management of existing shakhas or setting up new ones. The training also focuses on sharpening mental and physical abilities.

Unlike elsewhere in India, where Sangh finds its opponents in Congress supporters, in Bengal it has had a different experience. “During the Left’s tenure, RSS faced a difficult time conducting its activities. In 2011, the majority of people, including swayamsevaks voted against the old government. We observed that supporters of the leading political party, here, began resisting our work, after the 2014 elections,” Biplab Roy, Prant Prachar Pramukh, Dakshin Banga, said. In 2014, the BJP came to power at the Centre.

“We had revived an old shakha in south Kolkata in 2008. In 2015, it was bitterly opposed, and now it thrives with difficulty,” Debashish Chowdhury, a committed swayamsevak, said.