"RSS' focus on meritocracy can help India's youth," says Israeli researcher Rosenman

Speaking to ANI, he said that enabling talented individuals to advance through hard work and achievement could contribute to India's future prosperity.

Rosenman, based in Jerusalem, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political journey exemplified the importance of merit and achievements rather than family connections or inherited privilege.

"One of the RSS's main virtues is meritocracy. Consider someone like Prime Minister Modi ji. He came to power not because he was someone's son or because he was wealthy or belonged to an upper caste, but because of his hard work and achievements as Chief Minister of Gujarat," Rosenman said.

He added that a merit-based system could give young people aspirations and encourage them to pursue opportunities through their performance and abilities.

"If young people know that, as long as the RSS, BJP, and others affiliated with these ideas are in power, people will advance on merit rather than through nepotism and corruption, they will have something to aspire to. If they perform well, they will advance. I think that is the future of India," he said.

Rosenman stressed that India's long-term prosperity would depend on creating an environment in which talented individuals could flourish and contribute to economic growth.

"The more India becomes meritocratic and free, allowing talented people to rise, the more it will prosper, and the more young people will find their way forward," he said, adding that successful individuals could generate employment and influence society through their achievements.

Speaking about his contribution to the book, Rosenman said it was an opportunity to encourage greater engagement between the RSS and people outside India, particularly in Israel and the Jewish world.

"I hope my article, which takes a comparative approach and examines Israeli and Indian societies and cultures, will serve as a hand extended to the RSS to reach out to Israel and the Jewish world," he said.

Rosenman also challenged perceptions of the RSS as a rigid, ageing organisation, saying its centenary publication sought to present it as an organisation capable of rejuvenation and adaptation to changing circumstances.

He said his interactions with RSS members, whom he met through events organised by Israeli diplomatic representatives in India, had introduced him to what he described as the grassroots of Indian society. He added that they shared an ideological alignment and agreed on several issues concerning world affairs.

The book, Hundred Years Young: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, examines the organisation as it completes 100 years and brings together contributors from diverse religious and social backgrounds.

Earlier, author Rashmi Samant told ANI that the RSS could not be understood through a single perspective or within a short period, describing its work as generational and centred on "man-making".

Samant said the book sought to present diverse lived experiences and encourage readers to move beyond one-dimensional perceptions of the organisation. (ANI)