Owaisi fires at RSS over Vande Mataram and freedom struggle
Synopsis
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on 30 July 2026 accused RSS members of never reciting Vande Mataram and spending the colonial era writing apology letters to the British, reigniting a long-running dispute over the RSS's role in India's freedom struggle.
Key Takeaways
Asaduddin Owaisi posted on 30 July 2026 accusing RSS members of never reciting Vande Mataram .
He charged that RSS figures 'kept writing apology letters to the British' during the colonial era.
The RSS was founded in 1925 and did not participate in major independence agitations like the Quit India Movement .
The organisation was banned in 1948 following Mahatma Gandhi's assassination .
The post continues a sustained pattern of AIMIM challenging the RSS's nationalist credentials on historical grounds.
A sharp volley in India's oldest culture war landed on Thursday evening. AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi took direct aim at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on 30 July 2026, charging that its members never recited Vande Mataram themselves and spent the colonial era writing apology letters to the British.
Posting in Hindi, Owaisi wrote: 'RSS ke log khud kabhi Vande Mataram nahin padhe, sirf angrezon ko mafinaama likhte rahe.' — 'People of the RSS never themselves recited Vande Mataram; they kept writing apology letters to the British.'
The charge Owaisi is reviving
The accusation is not new, but its edge never dulls in Indian political discourse. Critics of the RSS — particularly from opposition and minority-rights quarters — have long pointed to the organisation's complex relationship with the independence movement. The RSS, founded in 1925, was ideologically distant from the Congress-led freedom struggle and did not participate in mass agitations such as the Quit India Movement of 1942. The organisation was also banned by the Indian government in 1948 in the aftermath of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, amid accusations of communal incitement. The 'apology letter' reference targets a specific historical episode: the practice, associated with some early RSS figures, of writing clemency petitions to colonial authorities — a charge the RSS and its supporters strongly contest, arguing the record has been selectively read.Vande Mataram as political battlefield
Vande Mataram — the song from Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's 1882 novel Anandamath — has been a contested symbol for over a century. Its first two stanzas became a rallying cry of the independence movement and were later designated India's national song. The RSS and affiliated organisations have frequently invoked it as a test of patriotism, making Owaisi's inversion — that the RSS itself failed that test — a calculated rhetorical strike. For Owaisi, a Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad and one of the most combative voices in Parliament on questions of nationalism and minority rights, the post is consistent with a long pattern of challenging the RSS's claim to be the custodian of Indian nationhood. The RSS has not yet responded publicly. Whether BJP spokespersons or RSS-affiliated voices fire back — and on what ground — will shape where this exchange lands next.Point of View
Vande Mataram, to question its patriotic legitimacy. The 'apology letter' charge has circulated in opposition politics for decades but gains fresh traction each time RSS-affiliated groups invoke national symbols as a loyalty test against minorities. By going on the offensive on historical grounds rather than defending AIMIM's own record, Owaisi attempts to shift the burden of nationalist proof onto the RSS itself. How the Sangh and BJP respond will reveal whether they engage the historical argument or redirect to contemporary identity politics — a choice that will define the next round of this exchange.
NationPress
30 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Owaisi say about RSS and Vande Mataram?
Owaisi posted in Hindi on 30 July 2026 that RSS members never recited Vande Mataram themselves and spent the colonial period writing apology letters to the British.
What is the 'apology letter' accusation against RSS?
Critics allege that some early RSS figures wrote clemency petitions to British colonial authorities seeking leniency, in contrast to freedom fighters who faced imprisonment. The RSS and its supporters dispute this characterisation of the historical record.
Did RSS participate in India's independence movement?
The RSS, founded in 1925, did not formally participate in major Congress-led agitations such as the Quit India Movement of 1942. It was also banned in 1948 after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.
Why is Vande Mataram politically sensitive in India?
Vande Mataram has been a contested symbol since the colonial era. RSS and affiliated groups often invoke it as a patriotism benchmark, making accusations that the RSS itself avoided it a pointed political reversal.
Who is Asaduddin Owaisi?
Asaduddin Owaisi is the president of AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) and a Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad, known for his outspoken criticism of RSS and BJP on nationalism and minority-rights issues.
