The Hindu hardline RSS who see Modi as their own

The group was once again banned in 1975 when then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi suspended all fundamental rights and jailed almost the entire opposition leadership.

The RSS used this opportunity to build alliances with anti-Congress forces and spread its political influence.

In the late 1980s, the RSS, through its affiliates, launched a massive movement to build a Hindu temple at the place of a medieval mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya.

The Babri Masjid (mosque) was demolished in December 1992 by supporters of radical Hindu groups, including the RSS. The group was outlawed for a third time but the courts overturned the decision.

Critics, however, say the organisation continues to be a sectarian, militant group, which believes in the “supremacy of Hindus” and “preaches hate” against Muslims and Christian minorities.

Clad in khaki shorts and white shirts, RSS cadres regularly gather in small groups in parks and street corners in different Indian cities and towns to work out, sing patriotic songs, play games and talk about the past glory of “Hindu India”.

These groups are called shakhas (branches) and are the backbone of the organisation’s countrywide network of committed workers. The Sangh claims to have shakhas in 50,000 villages and cities across the country, but it does not maintain a membership register.

According to the RSS website, “only Hindu males” can join the group. For women, there is a separate organisation called the Rashtra Sevika Samiti (National Women Volunteers’ Committee).

The controversy around the broadcast of Mr Bhagwat’s speech has led to a wider debate about the future relationship between the government and the RSS.

Will the Sangh be able to force the government to follow its agenda? Or, will a “tough leader” like Mr Modi allow this to happen? Or, will both work together towards the similar goal of establishing Hindutva (Hindu-ness) as an all-encompassing, superior political ideology in modern India?

Some commentators have also raised the question as to why a non-elected body, outside the multi-party democratic system, should be allowed to influence the government’s decision-making process. So far, Mr Modi has not commented.

The questions are being asked against a backdrop of a bitter turf war that was fought out in the open between the RSS and BJP when the party was in power from 1998 to 2004.