The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has made a strong case for dialogue with “the people of Pakistan”. While RSS functionaries insist there is “nothing new” in this position, discussions within a section of the organisation and among former diplomats sympathetic to it suggest that the geopolitical churn is paving the way for realism.

On his return from the US, RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale first spoke of the need to “keep the communication channel open with Pakistan” in an interview with PTI. Later, Sarsanghchalak (chief) Mohan Bhagwat endorsed Hosabale’s views at an interaction with the media in Thiruvananthapuram. While Bhagwat is the public face of the RSS, Hosabale as general secretary is its executive head.

As part of its centenary celebrations, through which it has sought a wider domestic outreach, Bhagwat visited several cities—first major metros and then influential State capitals—for a Vyakhyan or lecture series, presenting the RSS worldview to cross-sections of society. This year-long exercise concludes on Vijayadashami in October 2026.

While Bhagwat focussed on domestic audiences, Hosabale reached out to international platforms and interacted with a few think tanks, including the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. This foreign engagement came in the backdrop of the organisation inviting a large number of global opinion writers at last year’s Vijayadashami celebrations in Nagpur, while Bhagwat’s three-day lecture series in New Delhi at the Vigyan Bhawan was attended by scores of foreign diplomats. The goal, according to a section of RSS functionaries, is to “influence the perspectives of global opinion makers and change their views of India positively”.

All RSS offices without exception display portraits of “Mother India”. In these portraits, the map shows an India whose boundaries include Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. This explains the RSS’ core belief that the people of the South Asian subcontinent constitute “one nation”.

The RSS has in the past taken a hard line against anyone who defies this belief. L.K. Advani, on returning from his 2005 visit to Pakistan, faced a major backlash—originating largely from the RSS—for his praise of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He resigned as BJP president, though a patch-up with the Nagpur leadership followed.

As Hosabale made the case for dialogue with the people of Pakistan, he told PTI: “The people of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh constitute one nation.” A senior RSS functionary, explaining this position, said the organisation had consistently “rejected the two-nation theory” by anchoring its vision of the nation in a people with common ancestry.

“The DNA is common. The people have the same ancestry. The common heritage bonds the people. This can be understood if the history of the subcontinent is read from the beginning, and not just from the medieval age,” said a senior RSS leader.

RSS leaders have also been following closely a project undertaken by the Lahore administration under which streets are being restored to their pre-Partition names. Islampura in Lahore was renamed Krishan Nagar. Rehman Gali became Ram Gali. Babri Masjid Chowk was renamed Jain Mandir Chowk. The project, overseen under Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, has faced backlash from hardliners, but the intent to recognise past heritage has stirred interest in Nagpur.

“By giving back non-Islamic names to streets and colonies as they were known before Pakistan came into existence, the Lahore administration has revealed that the idea of a common heritage has recognition and support of the people there,” said another senior RSS functionary.

The contrast with BJP-ruled civic bodies in India is not lost on observers. In the national capital, streets are being renamed by replacing the original names of Mughal-era landmarks.

Ideology, rhetoric, and realism

Ahead of Operation Sindoor, Bhagwat in a speech at the PM Museum auditorium had called for “harsh punishments” for Pakistan. “We never insult or harm our neighbours, but still if some don’t change or continue creating trouble to the world, teaching a lesson is also non-violence and religion,” he remarked at the launch of The Hindu Manifesto, authored by Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Swami Vigyananand. In that speech, Bhagwat also quoted the book calling for “civilisational awakening”.

After Operation Sindoor, India-Pakistan relations have remained frozen. In election speeches during the Bihar Assembly election, BJP leaders amplified rhetoric around Operation Sindoor, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nationalist image becoming a central campaign theme.

That rhetoric is now giving way to realism in the wake of the US-Iran war. Pakistan’s swift geopolitical rise and its emergence as a dependable American ally in President Donald Trump’s second term has been ringing alarm bells in the Sangh Parivar. The initial euphoria over Trump’s election victory has nearly vanished. In the early days of Trump’s presidency, RSS leaders had sounded sanguine about Washington turning against “woke culture”. At the launch of a book by Indian-origin author Rajiv Malhotra, Hosabale had shown keen interest in claims about American funding of institutions in India that promote “woke culture and ideas”. That enthusiasm is now fading, particularly after the US imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India.

“The Trump administration, by imposing tariffs on India, majorly lost goodwill in the country. India-US bilateral relations are now largely transactional. Besides, India has to safeguard its national interests from a US that seeks to assert hegemony over others,” said a senior BJP leader with deep links to the RSS.

The US-Iran war has also forced Hindutva ideologues to revisit some long-held positions. That Iran sustained and almost matched the firepower of a combined US-Israel onslaught has sobered some of the more strident voices.

“First the Ukraine war and then the Iran war offer lessons in revisiting some of our old beliefs. The immediate lesson for all, including us, is that war is not a solution to resolve conflicts. Possibly the era of short and swift wars is now over. Wars once unleashed may slip into stalemate, as has been seen in both the US-Iran conflict and the Russia-Ukraine war,” said a senior BJP functionary.

India’s wider recalibration

India has also begun to normalise relations with China after over four years of frozen ties following the 2020 Galwan Valley clash. Views emerging from the Sangh Parivar suggest a cautious approach is being strongly advocated, with clear instructions to avoid anti-China rhetoric. This can be seen in the sudden silence of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an RSS affiliate, which in recent years had spearheaded “boycott China” campaigns.

Diplomatic circles are abuzz with discussions around Track II meetings between retired Indian and Pakistani officials at neutral venues—moves that align with the advocacy Hosabale has advanced and Bhagwat has endorsed.

In the strategic community aligned with the BJP and RSS, there is discussion around revisiting the approach to Pakistan in light of events since the Iran war. “Pakistan’s geography has once more proved instrumental in Islamabad becoming key to Washington. Its geopolitical gains are undeniable. We have to realistically assess the situation,” said a BJP functionary.

Discussions in the Hindutva camp now centre on protecting India’s position with respect to Pakistan—rejecting attempts at third-party mediation and guarding against the re-hyphenation of India and Pakistan in the eyes of major powers.

After nine months of outreach, the RSS appears armed with a fresh world view to influence India’s foreign policy—and, if needed, to provide ideological cover for any adjustments the Modi government makes with Pakistan in the near future.

Manish Anand is a senior Delhi-based journalist who has covered the RSS, BJP, and PMO for leading English dailies.

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