In Delhi, where the influence of the Arya Samaj was enormous owing to the large influx of Hindu, Ary

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In Delhi, where the influence of the Arya Samaj was enormous owing to the large influx of Hindu, Arya Samaji Punjabi refugees in the wake of the Partition, this has meant a strong foundation for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since the late 1940s itself. In 1937, Delhi had six shakhas; by 1947, the number was already up to over a hundred. As Ashok Jindal, the pradhan of North Delhi’s Ashok Vihar chapter of the Arya Samaj, who is also an RSS worker, says, “A pracharak of the RSS once said to an Arya Samaji leader in front of me, ‘The RSS is the B team of the Arya Samaj—both gain from each other, so both should work in tandem’.” Despite the Jana Sangh and the BJP’s chequered electoral history in the national capital—the BJP last won an election in Delhi in 1993—the upper-middle class and middle-class Hindu culture of Delhi has been highly influenced by the RSS-Arya Samaj combine. Link in bio to complete report by Sanya Dhingra (woof_sanya) Illustration: Manali Ghosh and Soham Sen #janasangh #bjp #rss #delhiassemblypolls #delhielections #delhielections2025