In southern Hyderabad, an 8000-strong group of RSS volunteers flexed its muscles on the streets on Wednesday 25 December. Though it was an organizational event, its top leadership sent out a conciliatory message to address the atmosphere of fear created by the Citizenship Law, which Muslims believe to be discriminatory.
Clad in white and khaki uniforms, the volunteers marched in unison army style.
RSS march in Hyderabad !!!#RSSTelangana
— Srikanth (@srikanthbjp_) December 25, 2019
pic.twitter.com/C1qgMRbDrd
The first-ever RSS meeting in the state was organised on the occasion of a three-day state-level camp where its chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed a meeting.
Traffic on the roads came to a standstill as the massive rally culminated at Saroornagar Indoor Stadium, the venue of RSS’s celebration of ‘Vijaya Sankalp Shibiram’ (the Camp of the Victory Vow). The march was led by men on horses bearing the organisation's saffron flags.
While several compared the event to a military and or Nazi-like march aimed at instilling fear in minorities, others were left mesmerised by the discipline of the rally.
Indian Nazis, #RSS today took a massive Nazi style march in South Indian city, Hyderabad! pic.twitter.com/HqXQhH5Gwb
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) December 25, 2019
1: RSS, Hyderabad 2019
— Shachi Nelli (@nellipiercing) December 25, 2019
2: Wehrmacht, Rhineland 1936
“To keep the purity of the race & its culture Germany shocked the world by her purging of the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here” - RSS Chief Golwalkar
The playbook is open, we‘d to be blind to ignore it. pic.twitter.com/MigthdA5u5
Today’s #VijaySankalpShibir at Lb Nagar, Hyderabad . Fully packed by #Swayamsevaks #Rss #RSSTelangana . pic.twitter.com/jsN3w0o089
— Laxman Chaturved╰_╯ (@laxman__) December 25, 2019
Mohan Bhagwat also stirred a controversy as he described all the 1.3 billion Indians as Hindu, a description given to all those who live in Hindustan or India.
“Any person, regardless of the region he is from, language he speaks, regardless of the method of prayer followed or whether he does not pray, such son of Bharat is a Hindu,” said Bhagwat.
Not everyone was amused by the statement by Bhagwat. Many questioned his wisdom in describing all Indians as Hindus.
It's high time when statements like these from the likes of Mohan Bhagwat shouldn't be given prominence in media. The more media publishes these stupid statements the more wood they get for the fire ! https://t.co/4Tlh6bLthu
— Zafar Abbas (@zafarabbaszaidi) December 26, 2019
What people need now is development, a better life, an easy process to take benefits of government schemes, better government hospitals, schools & services, how labelling India a Hindutva based society will help achieve these? #MohanBhagwat
— AnalystKrish (@krishnamurthy_N) December 26, 2019
