 Summary of this article
- One of the Sangh Parivar’s biggest successes in the Northeast is the transformation of the anti-immigrant movement.
- For the RSS in the Northeast, history, sewa or voluntary service and indigenous faith revivalism have been its strongest tools for reaching local populations.
- The RSS has taken up the ‘infiltrator’ issue in Manipur and Meghalaya, protesting against the “illegal influx of Bangladeshis (read Muslims)
The Dimasa Kachharis of Northeast India are descendants of Ghatotkach, asserts Gouranga Roy, calm and confident. Ghatotkach, he explains, was the son of demoness Hidimba and Bhim, the burly Pandava sibling in the Mahabharata. When asked where the story comes from, he replies without hesitation, “It’s all in the Mahabharata. Bhim and Arjun both have northeastern connections.” |
