Dattatreya Hosabale
General Secretary of Rashtriya Swayamsevaka Sangha (RSS)
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Through Indira Gandhi, Population control and Constitution of India
Early life and student politics
Dattatreya Hosabale was born on 1 December 1954, in Shimoga, Mysore State. His family was deeply affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Hosabale joined the RSS in 1968, before joining the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in 1972. During the Emergency, he protested against prime minister Indira Gandhi. He was subsequently detained for over a year under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. In 1978, he became Pracharak of the ABVP. He pursued his undergraduate education from the National College, Bengaluru and his postgraduate education from the University of Mysore.
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Rise within the Sangh
In 1992, Hosabale was made the Sangathan Mantri (General Secretary) of the ABVP. In 2009, Hosabale was made one of the four Sah-Sarkaryavahs (Joint General Secretary) of the RSS, under the leadership of Sarkaryavah (General Secretary) Suresh Joshi, as the latter had succeeded Mohan Bhagwat in the post.
Hosabale became the Sarkaryavah of the RSS on 20 March 2021, largely due to his close relations with prime minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah. A major reason for his elevation was because of his willingness to use the RSS machinery for electoral purposes. He was re-elected to the post in 2024.
Ideology and views
Hosabale has claimed that religious conversions and immigration by "infiltrators from Bangladesh and other countries" are reducing the population of Hindus and causing an "imbalance." He has called for strict anti-conversion laws and population control.
Shortly after he became the Sarkaryavah of the RSS, Hosabale expressed his belief in love jihad, an Islamophobic conspiracy theory which purports that Muslim men target Hindu women, through means such as seduction, deception, kidnapping, and marriage, in an attempt to convert them to Islam, as part of a "demographic war" and an international conspiracy. Hosabale supported the enactment on laws against love jihad, stating, "The use of fraudulent methods to lure girls into marriage and conversion is condemnable and must be opposed. Suitable laws and regulations have to be brought and RSS will support such laws."
In June 2025, Hosabale advocated for the removal of the words "socialist" and "secular" from the preamble of the Indian Constitution.