Opposition ruled India’s Karnataka suspends teachers over RSS affiliation
Teachers say events were cultural and held outside working hours, while government says participation breached civil-service conduct rules
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — Authorities in India’s opposition-ruled Karnataka state have suspended two government school teachers for participating in marches organized by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or RSS, saying their involvement prima facie violated rules requiring government employees to maintain political neutrality.
The Education Department suspended Gururaj Joshi and Anna Saheb Deshmukh on Aug. 20 while a departmental inquiry examines whether their participation in RSS Patha Sanchalana, or route marches, breached the Karnataka Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 2021.
Joshi is an assistant teacher at Government Girls’ High School in Hunasagi, while Deshmukh is head teacher at Government Lower Primary School in Kuppi village in Surpur taluk, both in Yadgir district.
The cases concern RSS marches held in October 2025. According to the disciplinary proceedings, Deshmukh participated in a march in Hunasagi on Oct. 10, while Joshi allegedly took part in an RSS march in Talikoti, in neighboring Vijayapura district, on Oct. 12.
In Joshi’s case, a photograph of him allegedly participating in the Talikoti march appeared in the local newspaper Vijaya Karnataka. Jumanna Gudimani, district president of the Ambedkar Swabhimani Sene, subsequently filed a complaint seeking disciplinary action.
The Education Department issued Joshi a show-cause notice on March 13, 2026. In his response, he argued that the event was held on a Sunday, outside working hours, and was cultural rather than political.
Deshmukh similarly maintained that the RSS program he attended was conducted outside working hours and should be regarded as a cultural activity rather than political participation. The department rejected both explanations and proceeded with the suspensions.
The suspension orders cite Rules 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), 5(1) and 7 of the Karnataka Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 2021, stating that participation in the RSS marches prima facie amounted to dereliction of duty and violated service regulations. The teachers were suspended under disciplinary provisions pending completion of departmental inquiries.
The orders state that government employees cannot belong to political parties or organizations involved in politics, associate with such organizations or participate in prohibited political activities. They also emphasize that teachers are expected to serve as role models in society.
The dispute has now become a political confrontation between Karnataka’s Congress-led government and opposition figures defending the teachers and the RSS.
Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge defended the disciplinary action, questioning why government employees should participate in activities organized by what he described as an unregistered organization.
He said the Education Department was entitled to act when government employees were found to have violated service rules.
Opposition leaders, however, have condemned the suspensions.
Union Minister and BJP leader Pralhad Joshi accused the Karnataka government of acting out of hatred and vindictiveness and called for the suspensions to be withdrawn.
He argued that courts had previously struck down restrictions imposed on government employees for participating in RSS activities and predicted that the suspension orders could face legal challenges.
JD(S) leader and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy also questioned the severity of the punishment, asking what major wrongdoing the teachers had committed by attending an RSS march and whether their participation had caused violence, damage or disruption.
BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginkai likewise defended the RSS as an independent organization and criticized the government’s action.
The controversy comes against a broader political dispute in Karnataka over the presence of RSS activities in government institutions and public spaces.
According to India Today, Kharge had previously written to then-Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking restrictions on RSS activities at government schools, colleges and public grounds, alleging that such activities were contrary to constitutional values.
The state has also been considering legislation to regulate the use of government premises and public property by private organizations.
Founded in 1925, the RSS promotes Hindutva, or Hindu nationalism, and is widely regarded as the ideological fountainhead of the broader Sangh Parivar network to which the Bharatiya Janata Party belongs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and numerous senior BJP leaders have longstanding backgrounds in the organization.
The teachers’ suspensions are provisional rather than final disciplinary findings. The departmental inquiries will determine whether their participation violated the applicable service rules and whether further disciplinary action is warranted.
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