They say Nagpur sits at the geographic centre of India. It is a modest sandstone marker, but also a fitting metaphor for an organisation that began there in 1925 and went on to claim a central place in India’s civic imagination. From a playground shakha led by Dr. K.B. Hedgewar and a handful of young men, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has, over the past hundred years, grown into a sprawling network that touches education, relief, cultural activity, and, indirectly, politics.

The Sangh’s story is not just about scale. It is about method: how a simple, repetitive routine became the foundation for a long-lived institution.

The RSS still describes its essence as “coming together every day for an hour" which combines physical drills, study and discussion. It is an unremarkable formula, but its strength lies in repetition. Habit builds discipline, discipline builds community, and community builds civic capacity.

That approach was on display in 2024 at a Policy Bootcamp organised by the Rashtram School of Public Leadership at Rishihood University. Asked how the Sangh creates so many leaders, sometimes called a “factory of leadership," General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale replied simply: “Come to shakha."

His answer underscored........

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