‘Study on demographic changes part of ideological, political discourse of RSS’

Lucknow: The constitution of a high-level committee to study the demographic changes arising from illegal immigration and other abnormal reasons reflects the growing centrality of the issue within the ideological and political discourse of the broader Sangh Parivar, particularly the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since its inception in 1925, a top RSS functionary said.

Not surprisingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the 'High-powered Demography Mission' on Aug 15, 2025, to coincide with the centenary year of the RSS. Sources said that the issue has been one of the key highlights of the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), the highest decision-making and representative body of the RSS.

According to a Sangh functionary, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has been consistently emphasising that demographic imbalance required more urgent attention than general population control. The organisation has specifically raised concerns over unnatural population growth and changes in the religious composition of border districts.

The demand has been vociferously raised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, RSS's religious arm, in almost all its meetings of the National Board of Trustees and managing committee. The board consists of elected office-bearers, prominent seers and senior functionaries who determine the organisation's national and international agenda.

VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said that the constitution of a commission to study demographic changes would help in understanding the socio-economic problems that have been arising out of illegal migration and religious conversions for the past many decades.

"These demographic changes have been the key reason behind the large-scale law and order situation in many districts where religious conversions have been rampant," Bansal said, adding that there were around 200 districts in the country where migration and religious conversion have turned the demography on its head, reducing the Hindu community to a minority.

"Subsequently, a parallel network, undeterred by any political or govt set-up, runs in these places," Bansal said, stressing that the illegal migration, essentially noticed in the bordering states, has only burdened the national economy.

Opposition parties maintain that claims regarding widespread demographic takeover were exaggerated and not always supported by official census or migration data. They also cautioned that conflating migration, religious conversion and law-and-order concerns risks deepening communal divisions.

Samajwadi Party national spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said that illegal migration, if any, should be ascertained factually and stopped. "Let the commission bring out the truth," he said, adding that the BJP govt at the Centre and the bordering states were equally responsible for the demographic changes that happened because of illegal migration and other reasons.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Bakrid wishes, messages and eid 2026