It is interesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen to invoke his Sangh roots, reaffirmed by a much hyped visit to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur on 30 March, at a time when his government is gearing up for trade talks with the US to mitigate the impact of President Donald Trump’s decision to slap the world with reciprocal tariffs.
The timing is significant because some of the issues on the table for discussion with the Trump administration are likely to clash with RSS' interests and its fundamental beliefs arising from its philosophy of swadeshi economics.
By recalling his long association with the Sangh, heaping lavish praise on the organisation as "a banyan tree of immortal culture and modernity’’ and emphasising its role in the march towards Viksit Bharat, Modi has positioned himself squarely within the RSS ideological fold.
In doing so, he seems to be addressing both the US and the RSS simultaneously, but with different messages.