Dilip Chaware
Times of India
September 24, 1999
Title: RSS becomes techno savvy, will hold a `cybershakha' Author: Dilip Chaware Publication: Times of India Date: September 24, 1999 MUMBAI: The physical barriers separating non-resident Indian RSS activists from their motherland will vanish on Saturday when Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Rajendra Singh launches the first ``cybershakha'' on the occasion of the RSS Hindi mouthpiece Panchajanya going online. The RSS chief will deliver a brief bauddhik (talk) on the net from Delhi and will then reply to the e- mail he receives from across the globe, according to US-based chemical engineer Ajay Shah, who has played a significant role in constructing the site. The shakha, the stipulated daily drill, is held sacred by every RSS activist. Even top BJP leaders, like Atal Behari Vajpayee and L.K. Advani, products of the RSS, are not exempt from attending the shakha, though not every day. Therefore, launching the shakha concept worldwide is eagerly awaited by RSS strategists, who want to advertise the fact that the organisation is not averse to embracing new technology despite the strict code of behaviour and discipline for its members. The cybershakha will mark two important departures. First, a swayamsevak will not be required to don the famous khakhi shorts and white shirt to attend it. Second, it will be the first opportunity for the organisation's activists to approach their supremo directly. Ever since its inception in 1925, the RSS has been known for its rigid discipline and for the average activist, meeting the Sarsanghchalak is like ``divine audience''. Another offshoot will be that even women will be able to send messages to the RSS chief. Never in the past have women been permitted access to the RSS leadership, leave aside the chief himself. Mr Shah, who has been living in the US for a long time, is an RSS ``sympathiser''. He spearheaded a campaign against the controversial Hollywood film, Eyes Wide Shut in which a shloka from the Gita was used as the background music for an erotic scene. Veteran activist and ideologue Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, reacting cautiously to the concept of cybershakha, said it was a welcome development since the RSS would be universally accessible by going online. But he felt it would take some time for the average activist to get used to the novel concept. Heading the prestigious Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, Mr Sahasrabuddhe recently launched a website brightindia.org with a view to projecting ``a resurgent India''. He said Indians abroad were eager to receive more and more information and the Sangh Parivar had a definite edge over the others in this field. However, the two websites launched by the RSS in the past could not become popular, unlike the site launched by the BJP. Therefore, it was thought by the people attached to it to open another site. Thus, Mr Rajendra Singh will open the Panchajanya site on Saturday.
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