The RSS's growth in Kerala has been quiet and steady. Over the years, it has laid the foundation — or launchpad — for the BJP in the state's bipolar landscape. A united BJP could shake Kerala's political foundation in the 2026 Assembly polls.
Published Nov 01, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 02, 2024 | 9:25 AM
With over 5,142 shakhas in Kerala, as noted by the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the RSS has managed to strengthen its foundation quietly and consistently.
The mighty epiphyte sprouts from a small seed, and grows into a massive banyan tree, covering vast areas, often acres.
On Vijayadashami in 1925, such a seed germinated at a corner in Nagpur, and over the years, it spread all over the country. In due course, it ran its roots, albeit in small measures, in far-south Kerala.
The progenitor of the Sangh Parivar, the RSS, has as its proclaimed mission to protect Hindustan, as the pro-Hindu, paramilitary organisation prefers to call India.
The swayamsevaks — or volunteers, as its workers are called — have been officially urged to maintain a distance from politics, and concentrate on social and cultural programmes.
An apolitical existence has been one of the several lesser-known guidelines and philosophies of the organisation, detailed in several books and studies, including RSS: A View to the Inside by Walter Anderson and Shridhar Damle.
Outwardly, Kerala has been exhibiting a secular, socialist, and democratic foundation. However, despite its pro-Hindu credentials, the RSS ideology has found takers in the state.
According to the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the RSS has 5,142 shakhas — branches or units — in Kerala. The growth in the number of branches made the RSS bifurcate its Kerala unit into north and south divisions in 2024.
The growth of RSS in Kerala has been slow, steady, and silent, a lesson for political parties and students alike.
The anti-communist Liberation Struggle spearheaded by the Congress, IUML, Syro-Malabar Church, and Nair Service Society, was spreading across Kerala when teenager S Sethumadhavan joined the RSS as a pracharak (full-time volunteer) after completing his 10th grade at Kozhinjampara in the then-year-old Palakkad district in 1958.
The struggle eventually led to the dismissal of India’s first elected communist government led by EMS Namboodiripad in July 1959.
Today, Sethumadhavan is perhaps Kerala’s last remaining RSS member with a comprehensive, first-hand recollection of the organisation’s journey in the state.
In a recent interview with Janmabhumi, Sethumadhavan recounted the journey of RSS in Kerala, offering insights into its history and influence in the region.
He recalled Dattopant Bapurao Thengadi, founder of the BMS, arriving in Kozhikode and initiating RSS activities in Kerala on 20 March 1942. Thengadi had with him a letter from Rajagopalachari, a senior lawyer in the Madras High Court, addressed to a lawyer in Kozhikode.
The Kozhikode lawyer felt RSS activities were not required in Kerala. A determined Thengadi met a member of the Mankavu branch of the Zamorin — Samoothiri in Malayalam — and won support and temporary accommodation.
The Zamorin family members, including TN Marthanda Varma and TN Bharathan, as well as P Madhavan, R Venugopal, and Advocate Ambadi Karunakaran, developed close ties with Thengadi. It led to the establishment of the RSS’s first shakha at Chalappuram in Kozhikode.
Before Thengadi, Baburao Thalange had visited Thiruvananthapuram but returned to Nagpur. He was succeeded by Madhukar Rao Oak, followed by Manohar Dev, with local support from lawyer PK Gopalan Nair.
Gopalan Nair, P Kumaran, and Advocate Karunakaran attended a training programme in Nagpur. In 1948, Gopalan Nair became an MLA from Tiruvalla.
Sankar Sastri, K Bhaskar Rao, and Manohar Dev expanded the Sangh’s reach in 1946 across Kozhikode, Ernakulam, and Thiruvananthapuram. While the members in Kozhikode were mainly locals, Ernakulam’s activities initially engaged Marathi, Gujarati, and Konkani speakers, and Thiruvananthapuram’s group included students from other areas.
Bhaskar Rao’s involvement eventually spread the Sangh’s activities to locals and new regions, establishing a foundational network across Kerala.
Selvan C, a senior RSS leader from Aluva, Kochi, knows the early leaders of RSS in Kerala. In a conversation with South First, he reflected on their history and spoke about his role models.
“The first Malayali pracharaks — Venuvettan (R Venugopal), Madhavji (P Madhavan), Bharathettan (TN Bharathan), and Kumarettan (P Kumaran) — began their work in Kerala in 1947.
Ettan — big brother — is a term of endearment used mostly in the Valluvanad region. RSS leaders were mostly referred to as ettan or with the Hindi suffix, Ji, to their names.
“By 1951, Parameshwarji, MA saar (sir), and Kartha saar (MA Krishnan and Ramachandran Kartha) had emerged as pracharaks from Thiruvananthapuram. From Kochi, we had Hariyettan and Bhaskerji, while VP Janettan (VP Janardhanan) represented Palakkad,” Selvan said, adding they became the second generation of pracharaks in Kerala.
Venugopal later became the national president of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS). Madhavan cemented the organisation’s spiritual foundation in Kerala.
“Parameshwarji was recognised as the final authority in intellectual matters in Kerala, while Bharatettan became the primary representative of the organisation’s ideological vision in the political sphere. Hariyettan distinguished himself as the first Malayali to assume national responsibilities within the organisation,” Selvan said.
Krishnan served as the cultural face of the group, leading initiatives such as Balagokulam and Tapasya. “Bhaskerji initiated Vidyaniketan, which laid the groundwork for national education in Kerala. Between 1955 and 1960, a third generation of pracharaks emerged in various districts throughout the state,” he explained.
Sethumadhavan noted that the RSS faced many challenges during its initial days in Kerala.
“The communists often targeted the shakhas. In 1948, MS Golwalkar’s Kerala Yatra was met with violence, not only from communists but also from Muslims,” he said.
Those who sided with the RSS were also attacked. On 13 August 1947, a group of men murdered Ramasimhan, a member of a prominent Muslim family, Kiliyamannil.
“His brother Dayasimhan, his Brahmin wife Kamala, and their cook Raju Iyer were brutally killed by a group of Muslims. This tragedy instilled fear among Hindus in the community, and the bodies remained un-cremated since no one dared to touch them.” Sethumadhavan said.
Vishnugopal, a local committee member of the CPI(M) from Kottayam, told South First that the RSS’s agenda is fundamentally aimed at establishing a Hindu Rashtra.
He asserted that its objective is to transform India into a Hindu nation by the time it reaches its centenary year. According to him, the RSS ideology seeks to eradicate both minorities and communism from the country.
Kerala has witnessed numerous brutal murders associated with the RSS. Vishnugopal recalled an incident from his schooldays involving Ajayaprasad, a student from Kayamkulam, who was brutally killed. He also mentioned the murder of Ajeesh Viswanathan, a CMS College student, in 1992.
Vishnugopal stated that since January 1995, there have been a total of 96 political killings in the state. Among these, 40 were CPI(M) activists.”
The RSS operates 8,000 shakhas in Uttar Pradesh, 1,453 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,000 in Gujarat, and 4,000 in Maharashtra. However, Kerala has the highest density of shakhas, considering its size and population.
Political analysts have identified key reasons for the challenges the BJP has been facing in Kerala despite this density.
“Politics in Kerala remains bipolar, dominated by the LDF and UDF, largely due to the presence of minority communities. Unlike in other parts of India, many Hindus in Kerala identify with the Left parties rather than the Congress,” a well-known political expert in Kerala told South First on the condition of anonymity.
“The social reform movements led by the communist party have also played a significant role in keeping the BJP at bay. As a result, despite the RSS’s deep roots, it has not translated into support for the BJP. Furthermore, there are often visible conflicts between the BJP and the RSS in Kerala,” he added.
According to the 2011 decadal census, minorities make up 44.9 percent of Kerala’s population, with Muslims constituting 26.56 percent and Christians 18.38 percent.
Political violence in the state attracts national attention. In 2016, Kerala ranked 20th in total murders, yet it had the third-highest number of political murders in the country, behind Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Between 1970 and 2016, Kerala recorded 969 political murders, with over half (527) of the victims being CPI(M) activists, while less than a quarter (214) were affiliated with the RSS, according to data released by the state bureau of crime records.
Selvan noted that the RSS membership surged after the 1975 Emergency, during which K Karunakaran led a Congress government in the state.
The Emergency had the support of the CPI, leaving the Sangh as one of the few organisations that opposed it, resulting in a notable migration of members from the communist party to the RSS. The RSS witnessed a surge in its members between 1977 and 1982.
“Since the days of the Jan Sangh, we have lost over 300 leaders in Kerala. If that hadn’t happened, we might have been as strong as in Karnataka by now. How can a party thrive if its local leaders are targeted?” a member from the BJP IT cell remarked.
However recent reports indicated that the BJP has been making significant strides in Kerala, similar to the growth seen by the RSS.
The party has successfully secured more than 1,000 local body representatives across the state, particularly in regions such as Palakkad, Thrissur, and Thiruvananthapuram, highlighting its influential role in local governance. This presence surpasses that of Tamil Nadu.
Out of the 25,000 polling booths in Kerala, the BJP has established a foothold in around 22,000, demonstrating widespread support. In the 2016 Assembly elections and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the party garnered a notable 16.5 percent of the vote share. Moreover, in several Lok Sabha constituencies, the BJP’s vote share exceeded 30 percent.
“Many believed that the BJP would struggle to establish a foothold in Kerala until Suresh Gopi was elected to Parliament. This outcome surprised some, but it didn’t catch the attention of political leaders on either side,” the political expert said.
“The recent events in Thrissur were just a preview. If the BJP can overcome its internal conflicts and unite, the upcoming by-election in Palakkad could potentially see the party flourish, he pointed out.
However, more than the Palakkad by-poll, the BJP has its sights set on 2026, when the state would elect a new Assembly. The BJP is expected to play a significant role in the political landscape.
The RSS has built a loyal support base. The BJP’s primary challenge in Kerala is to unify its members and approach the elections cohesively,” the expert noted.
It is the big picture political Kerala cannot ignore.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
