Dear Mohan Bhagwat, Do You Even Know How the Indian Army Trains?

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat claimed his Swayamsevaks could be trained to guard India’s border in just three days.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says if the Constitution permits, his men can be trained to guard India’s borders in a matter of three days, unlike the Army’s training period.

Photo Courtesy: Image Altered by The Quint)

Rashtriya Swayamasevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat is convinced his Swayamsevaks can train to the guard India’s borders in a matter of three days. This, he claims is in comparison to the training undertaken by the Indian Armed Forces, where personnel undertake six to seven months of training.

Bhagwat made the claim at a meeting of RSS workers in Bihar on 11 February. He also said that the RSS was a "family organisation" and not a paramilitary one, but could turn into an army overnight, should the Constitution allow it.

Sangh will prepare military personnel within three days, which the Army would do in 6-7 months. This is our capability. Swayamsevaks will be ready to take on the front if the country faces such a situation and if the Constitution permits to do so.

Mohan Bhagwat, Chief, RSS

Bhagwat may have overstated the organisation’s capacity and ability. While the work RSS has done in areas of development of society and rescue efforts in times of calamities cannot be ignored, to question how anyone can replace months and years of well researched, tried and tested rigorous training is preposterous.

While those training for the armed forces perform high-intensity and dangerous tasks like obstacle courses, armed warfare training, stealth and communicative exercises, RSS workers often train with wooden sticks.

Armed forces personnel perform mock drills – under various weather conditions – on specially-designed structures, while videos of RSS training sessions show the members using what appears to be a jungle-gym of sorts.

Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim