The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Saturday elected Dattatreya Hosabale as the next sarkaryavah (general secretary). Hosabale replaces Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi, 73, who held the position since 2009 for the fourth time.
Hosabale, 65, was serving as the organisation’s saha-sarkaryavah in the RSS.
The important decision for the change of guards was taken at RSS’ “Akhil Bharatiya Prathinidhi Sabha”, the highest annual decision-making conclave of the Sangh, which was held near Bengaluru this year from March 19 to March 20.
“Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha of RSS elected Shri Dattatreya Hosabale as its ‘Sarkaryavah’. He was Sah Sarkaryavah of RSS since 2009”, according to the RSS.
Hosabale will be taking charge ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections and RSS centenary celebrations in 2025- both being major milestones for the BJP and the RSS.
The decision was taken after an internal election in RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Prathinidhi Sabha, which is an annual meeting of the top RSS functionaries. It was held in Bengaluru and not in Nagpur because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was scheduled to last year but was postponed on account of the pandemic.
Hosabale was active during the Emergency from 1975 to 1977, and was arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. He served as the general secretary for the student organisation ABVP.
Popularly known as ‘Dattaji’ in RSS, he comes from a family of RSS activists. He joined the RSS in 1968 and then the student organisation ABVP in 1972. He became a full-time worker of the ABVP in 1978. He was the general secretary of ABVP for 15 years with his headquarter being Mumbai.
The new RSS General Secretary comes from Sorab in the Shimoga district of Karnataka. A staunch supporter of the government’s key policies like NRC and NEP, he is also vocal about his view on conversions to other religions.
Hosabale studied English literature at a university in Bengaluru. He enjoyed proximity with almost all writers and journalists of Karnataka, notable among them being YN Krishnamurthy and Gopal Krishna Adiga. He played an active role in setting up the Youth Development Centre in Guwahati, Assam and the World Organization of Student and Youth.
He was the founding editor of Aseema, a Kannada monthly. He became Sah-Baudhik Pramukh (second in command of the intellectual wing of RSS) in 2004. He is multi-lingual and fluent in Kannada, Hindi, English, Tamil and Sanskrit.
He has been quoted as saying that football is a symbol of global openness and great unifier with universal adherents and admirers for ages.
Hosabale will hold the post of General Secretary for three years. Election to the Post takes place every three-year.