In a historic move, the Modi government has lifted a 58-year-old ban on government employees participating in the activities of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS). The prohibition, enacted in November 1966 during the tenure of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was lifted on the 9th of July 2024. The copy of this Department of Personnel and Training’s (DoPT) order was shared on social media by Congress leaders to express their anguish over the undoing of the historic injustice.
“Participation of the Government servants in the activities of RSS regarding. The undersigned is directed to refer to the OM No.3/10(S)/66-Estt. (B) dated 30.11.1966, OM No. 7/4/70-Est. (B) dated 25.07.1970 and OM No. 15014/3(S)/80- Estt. (B) dated 28.10.1980 on the above subject. 2. The aforesaid instructions have been reviewed and it has been decided to remove the mention of Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (R.S.S.S) from the impugned OMS dated 30.11.1966, 25.07.1970 and 28.10.1980. 3. This issues with the approval of Competent Authority,” the DoPT’s office memorandum dated 9th July reads.
Finally, Modi government withdraws memorandum first issued in 1966 barring government servants from participating in activities of the RSS.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) July 22, 2024
This bar was purely political and arbitrary.
Former PM Indira Gandhi herself once reportedly reached out to the RSS in February 1977… pic.twitter.com/5lYbI5pmL5
Taking to X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh justified the 1966 ban restricting government employees from partaking in RSS activities and claimed that the Modi government lifted the ban after BJP’s relations with RSS ‘nosedived’.
“Sardar Patel had banned the RSS in February 1948 following Gandhiji’s assassination. Subsequently, the ban was withdrawn on assurances of good behaviour. Even after this the RSS never flew the Tiranga in Nagpur. In 1966, a ban was imposed – and rightly so – on government employees taking part in RSS activities. After June 4th 2024, relations between the self-anointed non-biological PM and the RSS have nosedived. On July 9 2024, the 58-year ban that was in force even during Mr. Vajpayee’s tenure as PM was removed. The bureaucracy can now come in knickers too I suppose,” the Congress MP posted.
Sardar Patel had banned the RSS in February 1948 following Gandhiji's assassination.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) July 21, 2024
Subsequently, the ban was withdrawn on assurances of good behaviour. Even after this the RSS never flew the Tiranga in Nagpur.
In 1966, a ban was imposed – and rightly so – on government… pic.twitter.com/Lmq7yaybR4
Notably, the ban on government employees participating in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activities was imposed by the Indira Gandhi government in 1966. The Congress government’s 1966 decision to ban government employees from partaking in activities of the RSS was a move rooted in political expediency rather than genuine concern for the public interest. The ban sought to stifle the influence of a prominent organization that ideologically opposed the Congress party.
“As certain doubts have been raised about the government’s policy with respect to the membership of and participation in the activities of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh and the Jamaat-e-Islami by government servants, it is clarified that government have always held the activities of these two organisations to be of such a nature that participation in them by government servants would attract the Central Civil Services Conduct Rules. Any government servant, who is a member of or is otherwise associated with the aforesaid organisations or with their activities is liable to disciplinary action,” the 1966 banning order dated 30th November 1966 stated.
The audacity of the Congress government to equate the RSS, a nationalist organisation instilling values of unity and nation building with an Islamic extremist group like Jamat-e-Islami, is a testimony of Congress’s hatred for ideological adversaries. This order was a political move aimed at curbing the influence of the RSS, which had been growing as a socio-political force opposed to the Congress party’s ideology.
Notably, the 1966 banning order by the Indira Gandhi government came right after the RSS-backed Cow Protection/ Anti-Cow Slaughter Movement on 7th November 1966. During the protest bullets were fired, tear gas shells were thrown and batons and rods wielded on thousands of sadhus and Gau-bhakt Hindus outside the Parliament. In this violent crackdown on protesting Sadhus, more than 250 people were killed as per official records, however, the number is said to be much higher.
The 1966 ban on government employees participating in RSS activities was a politically motivated move by the then-PM Indira Gandhi-led government to curb their ideological rival.
How RSS Swayamsevaks were persecuted for years by Congress
While the Congress party cries “democracy khatre mein hai” every now and then since it has been out of power at the Centre, it has an ignominious history of suppressing freedom of expression and attacking its political adversaries in all the ways possible. RSS has been banned by the Congress-led Central governments on various occasion in the past. The first ban was just a year after India attained independence from British colonial rule. After the assassination of MK Gandhi by Nathuram Godse, the RSS was banned over allegations of its involvement, although these were later found to be unsubstantiated. During the Emergency imposed by PM Indira Gandhi, the RSS was banned again (1975-1977) as part of a broader crackdown on dissenting political and social organisations. The nationalist organisation was banned once more under the Narasimha Rao government after the Babri structure demolition in 1992.
While these unfair bans on RSS are widely known and discussed, an article published by RSS-backed newspaper Organiser back in 2000 reveals how the Congress party, for years hounded government employees for their association with RSS and attempts were made to restrict RSS workers from joining government jobs. These undemocratic attempts included, “Asking the police to verify the antecedents of the proposed entrants to Government jobs and to refuse employment if the candidate was a member of the RSS. To accuse the Government servants with subversive activities and a threat to national securities if they happen to participate, in the RSS activities and to remove them from services. To amend service rules thereby banning Government servants from participating in the RSS activities.”
How RSS members were targeted and terminated from jobs
The article mentions the case of a school teacher Shri Ram Shankar Raghuvanshi who was associated with RSS. The school where Raghuvanshi taught was taken over by the government and thus, Raghuvanshi was absorbed into Government service subject to verification of antecedents. As the Raigarh SP informed the government that Raghuvanshi has partaken in RSS and Jan Sangh’s activities, his services were terminated. Raghuvanshi challenged his termination in the High Court and won a verdict in his favour, later, the Madhya Pradesh government approached the Supreme Court against it, only to be reprimanded. The Supreme Court dismissed the MP government’s plea against quashing of the termination order.
“In fact members of these organisations continue to be members of Parliament and State Legislatures. They are heard often with respect inside and outside the Parliament. What then was the sin that the respondent committed in participating in some political activity before his absorption into Government service? What was wrong in his being a member of an organisation which is not even alleged to be devoted to subversive or illegal activities?” the apex court said back then.
In another such case, one Ranganathacharya Agnihotri who was selected for Munsif’s post in Karnataka was stopped from joining, after it was found during police verification that Agnihotri earlier worked as an organiser in Yelburga. Agnihotri challenged this in the High Court of Mysore and the court held that Agnihotri’s association with RSS is “irrelevant” while verifying his suitability for the job since RSS is a non-political cultural organisation.
Similarly, one Chinta Mani was sub-postmaster at Nagpur who was ‘accused’ of being an RSS member after he attended the organisation’s Sankranti Mahotsav and other events. The government sacked him. However, Chinta Mani approached the court against his termination and said that he is not a member of RSS. The High Court noted that even if Chinta Mani had been an RSS member, there was nothing wrong since RSS is not an unlawful organisation.
In a more recent case, the Himachal Pradesh High Court stayed the transfer order of HP State Cooperative Bank’s senior manager who was allegedly transferred over his association with RSS. Suresh Kumar Jaswal was posted in Bilaspur in July 2021 and was transferred to the Bank’s Rohru office in August 2023. Eventually, the court found Jaswal’s plea maintainable and stayed the transfer orders.
Ban on state government employees attending RSS shakhas
Notably, Congress has a habit of equating RSS with Islamic terrorist groups. In 1966, Congress equated RSS with Jamat-e-Islami and years later, Congress’s Digvijay Singh compared RSS with the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). In the year 2000, Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh had banned state government employees from joining RSS or its activities. This ban, however, was lifted in 2006 under the BJP government led by CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In 2000, BJP leader and Gujarat CM Keshubhai Patel had on 3rd January lifted the ban on the participation of state government employees in activities of the RSS. In 2008, a similar ban on government employees attending RSS Shakhas was lifted by the BJP government headed by CM Prem Kumar Dhumal. In Uttar Pradesh as well this ban was revoked.
The 1966 prohibition on government personnel participating in RSS activities was a politically driven unconstitutional action by the Congress government to stifle ideological opposition. Recognising the RSS’s contributions to nation-building and community service, the Modi government’s lifting of the ban is a corrective step that respects the democratic right to free association and recognises the role of varied organisations in nation-building.
