RELIEF AND REHABILITATION

Natural Calamities

RSS has participated in many relief activities during natural calamities. For instance, in the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, Indian newsmagazine Outlook's reporter Saba Naqvi Bhaumik reported that:

"Literally within minutes RSS volunteers were at the scenes of distress. Across Gujarat, the (RSS) cadres were the saviors. Even as the state machinery went comatose in the first two days after the quake, the cadre-based machinery of the Sangh fanned out throughout the state. Approximately 35,000 RSS members in uniform were pressed into service."

– Saba Naqvi Bhaumik, Outlook, Feb 12, 2001

“"This is an old tradition in the RSS. To be the first at any disaster strike: floods, cyclone, drought and now quake. In Kutch, too, the RSS was the first to reach the affected areas. At Anjar, a town in ruins, the RSS was present much before the Army and took the lead in finding survivors and fishing out the dead."

– K. Srinivas, District collector of Ahmedabad

India-Today, reported in its Feb. 12, 2001 issue that

"It is conceded by even their worst detractors that the RSS has been in the forefront of the non- official rescue and relief (operations). This has led to an upsurge of goodwill for the Sangh"

– India Today

The RSS assisted in relief efforts quite extensively during the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. They helped rebuild villages.^[57] They "earned kudos" from many varied agencies and sources for their actions.^[58]

This is a long and continuous tradition with the RSS. The RSS was instrumental in relief efforts after the 1971 Orissa Cyclone and the 1977 Andhra Pradesh Cyclone.^[58]

The RSS has also participated in relief efforts in the Indian State of Kashmir, which has been besieged by terrorism (see Terrorism in Kashmir). An RSS-affiliated NGO, Seva Bharati, has adopted 100 children, most of them Muslims, from militancy affected areas of the region to provide them education at least up to Higher Secondary level.^[59] They have also taken care of many victims of the Kargil War of 1999.^[60]

Sewa Bharati has also collaborated with several relief groups, such as the Catholics Bishops Conference of India to conduct relief operations in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Activities included building shelters for the victims, providing food, clothes and medical necessities.^[61] They raised over one crore rupees for the effort in one week after the tsunami.^[62] The RSS assisted relief efforts during the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and the subsequent Tsunami.^[63].

In 2006, RSS participated in relief efforts to provide basic necessities such as food, milk and potable water to the people of Surat, Gujarat who were affected by massive floods in the region^[64].