Since its inception, the RSS has viewed education as a powerful instrument for shaping society, particularly the minds of the younger generation. Its shakhas and training camps have long placed emphasis on ideological education and the cultivation of a particular cultural worldview.
The RSS’s political influence over education first became visible at the Centre after the Janata Party came to power in 1977. Among the early areas of contention was the content of school textbooks and the manner in which Indian history was taught.
In her memoir Just Being: A Memoir, eminent historian Romila Thapar recalls the controversy over history textbooks during the Janata Party period. Jana Sangh, the political predecessor of BJP, was an influential constituent of the Janata coalition and used its political weight to challenge the prevailing interpretation of Indian history.
Thapar has written that PM Morarji Desai went beyond merely sympathising with these objections and called for a ban on history textbooks recommended by the NCERT. She described the move as ‘surprising’. The government, however, collapsed before the proposal could be implemented.The battle over textbooks returned with greater force during the NDA government led by PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1999 to 2004. The then Education Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, pushed through major changes in textbooks and curricula, triggering a fierce debate among historians and academics over the politicisation of history.The issue assumed a new dimension after the BJP, under Narendra Modi, came to power with a majority in 2014.
RSS and Education Ministry
Within months of the Modi government taking office, representatives of RSS and several of its affiliated organisations began meeting the then HRD Minister, Smriti Irani, to discuss education policy and curriculum.The media reported these meetings in details. The Indian Express reported in November 2014 that Irani had held a sixth meeting with representatives of 11 Sangh-linked organisations. Among those represented were ABVP, Vidya Bharati, Akhil BharatiyaItihasSankalan Yojana, RashtriyaShaikshikMahasangh, Sanskrit Bharati and Vigyan Bharati.The discussions reportedly included demands for changes in the teaching of history and greater emphasis on ‘Indian heroes and Hindu culture’. Business Standard reported that the meetings also dealt with alleged anomalies in history textbooks, education quality and the incorporation of ‘moral values’ into education.
The significance of these meetings went beyond the presence of individual organisations. They demonstrated a direct channel of interaction between the government and a network of RSS-linked bodies, seeking changes in education.The questionis straightforward: What does it seek to achieve through influence over educational policy and institutions?Critics say the answer has become increasingly visible over the past decade.
From Policy to Institutional Influence
According to critics, there was no compelling need for a new education policy. They contend that the government introduced the NEP 2020 largely to accommodate the ideological concerns of its parent organisation. In their view, these formulations provide space for elements of the ideological worldview associated with the Sangh Parivar to enter the education system.
Critics further argue that repeated emphasis on India’s ancient traditions, cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge can go beyond academic revival and create room for a particular ideological interpretation of Indian identity and history.
Another major concern is the growing corporate footprint in education. With the education sector now estimated to be worth between ₹11 lakh crore and ₹14 lakh crore, education is increasingly being treated as a lucrative business rather than solely a public good. At the same time, the number of government schools has fallen from 11.07 lakh to around 10.13 lakh.
Critics warn that, without strong regulation and sustained public investment, unchecked privatisation could steadily erode the public character of education, turning a fundamental state responsibility into a market-driven enterprise.But the less visible and potentially more consequential issue is the alleged ideological penetration of educational and research institutions themselves.
Critics allege that the influence extends from schools and universities to institutions responsible for curriculum development, higher education, historical research and academic administration. They point to appointments ranging from teachers and professors to vice-chancellors, research directors and heads of autonomous institutions.
The question is not merely who writes textbooks. It is who controls the institutions that decide what is taught, who conducts research, which subjects receive official support and which interpretations of history and society gain institutional legitimacy.
Rewriting Curriculum
Curriculum and textbook changes have become one of the most visible battlegrounds in India’s education debate.The NCERT, CBSE and various state education boards have undertaken curriculum revisions at different points. History, in particular, has generated intense controversy.Critics contend that portions of medieval and modern Indian history have been reduced, removed or rewritten, while greater emphasis has been placed on cultural nationalism and a Hindu-centred interpretation of India’s past.
They also argue that some figures associated with the RSS and Hindutva have been given greater prominence, while the contributions of others have been diminished.The votaries of the changes reject this characterisation. They argue that Indian history and indigenous knowledge traditions were neglected under colonial and post-colonial approaches and that curricula should give greater space to India’s own intellectual and cultural traditions.
At the heart of the dispute, therefore, is a larger question: Should the education system merely transmit a particular interpretation of India’s past, or should it expose students to competing interpretations based on evidence, scholarship and critical inquiry?
Leadership and Institutional Control
Appointments to key educational and research institutions have become another major area of controversy.Critics have repeatedly questioned appointments to bodies such as NCERT, UGC and institutions associated with historical research. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have alleged that ideological considerations have influenced appointments to senior academic positions, including university vice-chancellorships.Such allegations cannot be applied indiscriminately to individual appointments, which require examination on the basis of qualifications, selection procedures and documentary evidence.
Yet the controversy raises a fundamental issue: how independent are academic institutions when the political ideology of those in power becomes a factor in the selection of their leadership?
The RSS has built or influenced a broad network of organisations working in education, student politics, teaching, history, science, language and literature. Several have developed substantial institutional and social reach.
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad: The student wing established in 1948, is primarily active in higher-education institutions.The organisation has repeatedly faced allegations of involvement in clashes and violence on university campuses.
Vidya Bharati: Also known as Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan, it runs a large network of schools and educational institutions. It also operates Ekal Shiksha Kendras in tribal areas and Sanskar Kendras in economically disadvantaged urban communities. It also publishes educational material for children in several languages and maintains a large alumni network. It has additionally entered the Sainik School sector. Under the government’s policy permitting NGOs and private organisations to participate in the management of Sainik Schools, Vidya Bharati has been entrusted with the management of several such institutions. The opposition had raised serious objections to handing these schools to the RSS.
Akhil BharatiyaRashtriyaShaikshikMahasangh: Established in 1988, Mahasangh is a federation of teachers’ organisations operating at state and university levels.Its stated objective includes promoting cultural nationalism in education and society. Its membership spans schoolteachers and university faculty, giving the organisation a potentially significant presence within the teaching community.
Akhil BharatiyaItihasSankalan Yojana: It works on the reconstruction and reinterpretation of Indian history.Established in 1994, it seeks to present what it considers the ‘true’ history of India and challenges aspects of conventional historiography, including the debate over the Aryan migration/invasion theory.Its approach has generated debate among historians over methodology, evidence and the interpretation of ancient Indian history.
Shiksha SanskritiUtthanNyas: The Nyas emerged from the Shiksha BachaoAndolan. Established in 2007, it advocates an education system rooted in what it describes as Bharatiya values and India’s cultural heritage.It has published material on Vedic mathematics, the ‘Indianisation’ of education, the environment and ancient traditions, etc.
Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad: Established in 1966, it promotes RSS literature and has branches in several states.
Vigyan Bharati: It was established in 1991 by scientists associated with the RSS. It seeks to connect scientific inquiry with Indian intellectual traditions and promotes the revival and study of ancient Indian scientific knowledge.It has organised programmes such as the World Congress of Veda-Vijnan, World Ayurveda Congress and Swadeshi Science Congress.
Critics question attempts to place ancient knowledge and modern science within the same framework when historical claims lack contemporary scientific evidence.
Sanskrit Bharati: It began as a movement to promote the use of Sanskrit and took its present organisational form in 1991.It describes Sanskrit as the ‘mother of all languages’.
BharatiyaShikshan Mandal: Established in 1969, the Mandal advocates an Indian education system rooted in what it calls eternal values.
These organisations do not operate entirely in isolation. Their representatives participate in the RSS’s broader organisational network, while senior office-bearers meet periodically to coordinate activities.The importance of this network lies in the way different fields – education, student politics, history, science, language and culture – can be brought together within a common organisational framework.
Critics argue that proximity to political power has enabled these organisations to benefit in several ways including appointments of individuals associated with or sympathetic to them to educational and government positions;wider circulation or institutional adoption of books and educational material produced by affiliated organisations;government support for workshops, seminars, conferences, exhibitions and training programmes; political protection and patronage during controversies; and stronger organisational links between these groups and the BJP.
The full extent of government funding and institutional support extended to RSS-linked organisations remains difficult to establish without comprehensive public records. What has emerged into the public domain may therefore represent only part of a much larger network.
The State-Level Dimension
There is another crucial dimension: education is on the Concurrent List of the Constitution, while school education is administered substantially by state governments.This makes BJP-ruled states particularly important to any scrutiny of the Sangh’s educational activities.Critics argue that the relationship between state governments and RSS-linked organisations deserves greater scrutiny, particularly where governments provide institutional recognition, financial assistance, land, administrative support or access to publicly funded educational programmes.
The extent and nature of such cooperation vary from state to state and must therefore be assessed through specific documentary evidence rather than broad assumptions.
What Is at Stake?
According to critics, the combined activities of the RSS and its affiliated organisations, backed by the political environment under BJP governments, have significantly expanded the influence of Hindutva-oriented ideas within India’s education system.They argue that the consequences go well beyond textbooks.At stake, in their view, are the autonomy of universities, the independence of historical research, the character of scientific education and the intellectual freedom of students and teachers.The larger issue is the very purpose of education.
Critics warn that when educational institutions become vehicles for promoting a particular ideological worldview, the space for intellectual diversity and independent thought can contract.A system increasingly shaped around a particular religious-cultural worldview could influence how future generations understand history, citizenship, national identity and India’s pluralistic traditions.