Supermodel Milind Soman has spoken about his experience in an RSS-run Shakha as a child in his memoir ‘Made in India’. In an excerpt published on The Print, the actor speaks of the childhood memories he has of the Shakha. He wrote that he was surprised by the accusations of communal diatribe that is leveled against the Shakha and described it as a ‘Desi Scouts Movement’.
Soman wrote in his memoir, “When I read today all the subversive, communal propaganda the media attributes to RSS shakhas, I am frankly baffled. My memories of what happened at our shakha between 6 and 7 p.m. each weekday evening are completely different—we marched about in our khaki shorts, did some yoga, worked out in a traditional outdoor gymnasium with no fancy equipment, sang songs and chanted Sanskrit verses that we did not understand the meanings of, played games and had a bunch of fun with our fellows.”
Milind Soman further wrote, “The whole thing was overseen by a team of mostly-well-meaning—if not always inspirational—adults, who truly believed they were helping raise good ‘civilian soldiers’— boys respectful of authority, well-behaved in the presence of adults and well-aware of the importance of physical fitness— who would put their efforts into nation-building when they grew up.” He also said that his dad was a member of the RSS and a ‘proud Hindu’.
As expected, liberals on social media are not pleased to learn that one of the most popular and attractive models comes from an RSS background. They have taken to social media to troll the actor.
Others are making poor jokes on the social media platform to cope with the fact.
The reaction from liberals on the revelations made by Milind Soman is along expected lines. They find it tough to fathom that normal everyday ordinary human beings find the RSS a healthy organization contributing fruitfully to society, much less any accomplished individual. While people on the right do not take the political opinions of celebrities too seriously, liberals hail them as intellectuals as it serves their propaganda purposes. Hence, when one of them turns out not toeing the line, the liberal camp suffers an intense meltdown.