Rashtriya Sikh Sangat

Rashtriya Sikh Sangat

Formation	1986 (39 years ago) (1986)
Headquarters	Sangat Marg, Ram Nagar, Paharganj, New Delhi, Delhi 110055
Region	India
Leader	Gurcharan Singh Gill
Parent organisation	Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
Affiliations	Bharatiya Janata Party Sangh Parivar
Volunteers	50,000-100,000+

The Rashtriya Sikh Sangat ("National Sikh Association") is an India-based Sikh affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

About

With about 450+ ekais (shakas, units) predominantly in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and as also presence in other states.^[1] Rashtriya Sikh Sangat was inspired by the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to unite Hindus and Sikh.^[2]

List of Leaders

No.	Leader	Photo	Term at office
1	Shamsher Singh	-	1986 to 1990 (Founder)
2	Chiranjeev Singh [3]		1990 to -
3	Rulda Singh[4]		- to 2009 [5]
4	Gurcharan Singh Gill[6]		2009 to Present[1]

Assassination of Rulda Singh

In 2009, Khalistan Liberation Force and Babbar Khalsa, two Khalistani militant organizations assassinated Rulda Singh, the then president of the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, in Patiala.^[1][7][8]

Controversies

The Akal Takht issued a Hukamnama (order) to the Sikh community in 2004 to not lend support to this organization as it does not represent Sikh interests. The edict stands, even now.^[9]

In 2004, the leader of the Akal Takht declared that the organization to be "anti-Sikh" and "anti-panthic".^[10] It forbade all Sikhs from having any association with it.^[1] The Akal Takht, (the supreme temporal body of the Sikh community worldwide) reiterated the ban again in 2019 and is seen as an attempt by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to promote Hindutva, to Sikhs and an attempt to assimilate (absorb) Sikhs into Hinduism.^[11]

See also

• Sangh Parivar
• Bharatiya Janata Party
• Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
• Muslim Rashtriya Manch
• Keshdhari Hindus
• Sanatan Sikh
• Hinduism and Sikhism

References

1. Dogra, Chander Suta (17 December 2014). "Ex-militants to riot package: RSS reaches out to Punjab via Sikh arm". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
2. Sanjeev Kelkar (2011). Lost Years of the RSS. SAGE Publications. pp. 181–182. ISBN 978-81-321-0762-0.
3. "Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat felicitates former Rashtriya Sikh Sangat chief Chiranjeev Singh".
4. "Punjab Sikh sangat leader Rulda Singh". Unp.me. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
5. Booth, Robert (13 July 2010). "In July, Singh was shot by two or three armed assailants outside his residence, and died weeks later to his wounds". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
6. "Gurucharan Singh Gill leader of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat".
7. "Rulda Singh's killers to stand trial in UK, British police team arrives to collect evidence". tribuneindia.com.
8. "Three British Sikhs arrested in UK over Rulda Singh murder case face extradition to India". The Times of India. 25 December 2020. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
9. "Akal Takht asks Sikh community to keep distance from RSS event".
10. "Anti-Panthic Outfit Rashtriya Sikh Sangat Resumes its Activities, SGPC, Jathedars Go Silent". 14 October 2017.
11. "Akal Takht Chief Calls For RSS to Be Banned". The Wire. Retrieved 4 July 2020.