on a high

New Delhi, March 11: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s membership seems to have risen, though only marginally, over the past one year despite the blast and murder cases against some of its officials.

“We have reason to be pleased because the figures show that despite the campaign of calumny against the RSS by the Congress and the UPA government, our following has not been dented,” claimed Sangh spokesperson Ram Madhav.

The Sangh’s annual report today said that 39,908 shakhas (camps) were now “active” at 27,078 places. Last year, the count was 39,823 shakhas at 27,089 places.

The Sangh, which was banned three times by the Centre since it was founded in 1925, does not maintain a list of its members. But at a rough estimate, the figure would be about 30 or about 10 per shakha, depending on whether or not only hard-core members are being counted.

On an average, 30 swayamsevaks show up regularly at a camp to engage in physical drills, games and discussions on the day’s issues. Of them, 10 go on to become committed members.

“In the past few months, when we carried out a door-to-door campaign to explain our viewpoint on the terror allegations against us, people said it had not made a lot of difference to their perceptions,” Ram Madhav said.

However, the annual reports have over the years shown that the Sangh’s strength had peaked during NDA rule and has been on a downswing since the coalition was voted out in May 2004.

In January 2004, the Sangh had registered the existence of 48,329 camps at 33,758 sites. By March 2007, the figure had dipped to 44, 417 camps at 30,981 places, and by January 2009, to 43,905 camps at 30,615 places.

Manmohan Vaidya, who heads the Sangh’s publicity cell, said there was “no need to over-interpret” the statistics and treat them as the yardstick for the Sangh’s growth or decline.

“Our style of working is different from a political party’s. We work discreetly and slowly, and the results are seen gradually,” Vaidya said.

The report, released at the opening session of a three-day meeting of national delegates at Puttur in Karnataka, said: “Keeping in mind the challenges that we face and the expectations of society, we have to increase our velocity and strength in a sustained manner.”

It quoted former sarsanghachalak M.S. Golwalkar: “The world today understands only one language, the language of strength.”