<p>In a bid to increase its presence in the south Indian states, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has turned its focus to five states.</p>.<p>While Kerala has the highest number of shakhas in the country, in Tamil Nadu, the Sangh carried out a door-to-door campaign. In Karnataka, a maximum number of members are volunteering for the Sangh’s centenary celebrations to be held in 2025.</p>.<p>According to the Sangh leaders, in Tamil Nadu, they carried out a 20-day door-to-door campaign. “We reached out to as many as 50% of the households. We asked them their opinions on temple management, the Hindu faith, and about RSS. We got a lot of appreciation, and one of the key issues they flagged was conversion. People had strong opinions on that,” a senior functionary of the Sangh told DH.</p>.<p>The functionary said that the general idea was that outreach was a commendable exercise, especially since Tamil Nadu is a state where the Sangh does not have a political base. “In several areas, people asked us why did we not come to the state earlier,” the functionary said.</p>.<p>In Kerala, the Sangh has a little less than 5,000 shakhas, the functionary said.</p>.<p>“The politics in Kerala is different from what we deal with in the north, and we hope to make a lot more inroads in the state soon,” the functionary added.</p>.<p>As many as 3,000 youngsters from across the country are volunteering for the centenary celebrations of the Sangh, to be held in 2025. Among them, the maximum number is from Karnataka.</p>.<p>There are over 83,000 shakhas across 58,000 locations; of these 61,000 are daily shakhas held across 40,000 locations, and 22,000 are weekly shakhas. “We aim to reach 1,00,000 shakhas by 2024,” the functionary said.</p>
<p>In a bid to increase its presence in the south Indian states, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has turned its focus to five states.</p>.<p>While Kerala has the highest number of shakhas in the country, in Tamil Nadu, the Sangh carried out a door-to-door campaign. In Karnataka, a maximum number of members are volunteering for the Sangh’s centenary celebrations to be held in 2025.</p>.<p>According to the Sangh leaders, in Tamil Nadu, they carried out a 20-day door-to-door campaign. “We reached out to as many as 50% of the households. We asked them their opinions on temple management, the Hindu faith, and about RSS. We got a lot of appreciation, and one of the key issues they flagged was conversion. People had strong opinions on that,” a senior functionary of the Sangh told DH.</p>.<p>The functionary said that the general idea was that outreach was a commendable exercise, especially since Tamil Nadu is a state where the Sangh does not have a political base. “In several areas, people asked us why did we not come to the state earlier,” the functionary said.</p>.<p>In Kerala, the Sangh has a little less than 5,000 shakhas, the functionary said.</p>.<p>“The politics in Kerala is different from what we deal with in the north, and we hope to make a lot more inroads in the state soon,” the functionary added.</p>.<p>As many as 3,000 youngsters from across the country are volunteering for the centenary celebrations of the Sangh, to be held in 2025. Among them, the maximum number is from Karnataka.</p>.<p>There are over 83,000 shakhas across 58,000 locations; of these 61,000 are daily shakhas held across 40,000 locations, and 22,000 are weekly shakhas. “We aim to reach 1,00,000 shakhas by 2024,” the functionary said.</p>