Archive · 31 Oct 2025
New Book Details RSS Social Engineering and Conflict Mediation in Northeast India
A new book talks about a group called the RSS and what it has been doing in Northeast India for a long time.
It started in Assam in 1946 and later spread to other places there.
The book says the RSS wanted to share its Hindu beliefs and make them seem like the way to be Indian.
They tried to bring Hindu people together and also encouraged people with older local beliefs to join them, seeing these as part of Hinduism.
The book also mentions the RSS was worried about Muslim migration into Assam.
It talks about how the RSS supported local religious traditions and started schools to compete with Christian groups.
Importantly, the book reveals the RSS also acted as a peacemaker in different local fights and conflicts in the region.
The authors believe the RSS's work helped the BJP party become popular in these states.
The book 'CROSSCOURT FROM FRONTIER TO HEARTLAND' details the RSS's century-long presence in Northeast India.
The RSS aimed to spread the Hindu way of life and assimilate it with the concept of 'Akhand Bharat' (undivided India).
Strategies included consolidating Hindu populations, absorbing indigenous faiths, and establishing schools to counter Christian missionary work.
The organization also engaged in conflict mediation in ethnic disputes across states like Mizoram, Assam, and Manipur.
Authors Rouhin Deb and Nabaarun Barooah link the RSS's grassroots campaigns to the rise of the BJP in the northeastern states.
- Who
- The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its associates
- What
- This book details the RSS's century-long presence and activities in Northeast India, focusing on its social engineering missions, efforts to consolidate Hindu populations, absorption of indigenous faiths, concerns about demographic changes, and its role in conflict mediation.
- When
- From 1946 to the present, with a focus on the post-independence period.
- Where
- Northeast India, including Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya.
- Why
- The book explores the RSS's mission to spread the Hindu way of life, equate it with the idea of India (Akhand Bharat), and consolidate its influence through various social and political strategies.
Viewpoint on RSS Activities
Book's Depiction of RSS Activities
Core Mission
Viewpoint on RSS Activities
The RSS's primary goal is religious and cultural consolidation.
Book's Depiction of RSS Activities
The book portrays the RSS's mission as winning hearts and minds to the Hindu way of life, synonymous with the idea of India, including its concept of Akhand Bharat.
Engagement with Indigenous Faiths
Viewpoint on RSS Activities
The RSS seeks to assimilate or replace indigenous beliefs.
Book's Depiction of RSS Activities
The book states the RSS's strategy was to win over and absorb followers of indigenous faiths, viewing them as part of an open-ended Sanatan Hinduism, and supporting their revival.
Role in Conflicts
Viewpoint on RSS Activities
The RSS avoids direct involvement in ethnic conflicts.
Book's Depiction of RSS Activities
The book highlights the RSS's active intervention and mediation in various ethnic conflicts in the Northeast, such as the Bru problem and the Kuki-Meitei conflict.
- Book Title
- CROSSCOURT FROM FRONTIER TO HEARTLAND: A CENTURY OF SANGH PARIVAR IN THE NORTHEAST
- Authors
- Rouhin Deb and Nabaarun Barooah
- Publisher
- Rupa
- Price
- Rs 795
- First RSS Shakha in Northeast
- 1946, Assam