Did the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) take part in the Republic Day parade in 1963? This question often gets traction in the national political discourse when the Opposition and particularly the Congress party raise questions on antecedents of the Sangh.

Speaking at a gathering at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, Congress president Rahul Gandhi compared the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s ideological parent RSS to the "Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab world", accusing it of "changing the nature of India".

In June this year too, several leaders of the Congress party criticized the RSS when former President Pranab Mukherjee accepted the Sangh's invitation to visit its headquarters.

Whenever the RSS faces such criticism from the Congress party they recall former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's invitation to Sangh volunteers to take part in the Republic Day parade in 1963. It said that the Nehru was impressed with the services of Sangh volunteers at the borders during the war with China in 1962. So, Nehru invited its volunteers to the 1963 Republic Day parade.

Ratan Sharda, a well-known face on national TV who often appears on behalf of the RSS, said that over 3,000 Sangh volunteers took part in the parade. Sharda was quoted saying, "However, RSS took part in the event at a short notice of barely two weeks".

Manmohan Vaidya, the national spokesperson for RSS, too said that "RSS was invited by the government for the good work by swayam sevaks. Our participation was covered in newspapers of the day".

But is it true that Nehru invited RSS volunteers to the 1963 Republic Day parade? Was India's first prime minister really impressed with the Sangh's service?

To find out the answers, India Today approached the Ministry of Defence, which is the nodal body of the Republic Day parade. We asked three questions under the Right to Information (RTI) Act:

1. Did the RSS volunteer at the borders during war with China in 1962?

2. Was the RSS invited to the 1963 Republic Day parade?

3. Who invited the RSS to take part in the Republic Day Parade?

4. Please provide a copy of the invite letter.

In response, the Defence Ministry said, "It is informed that records relating to the composition of the Republic Day parade 1963 are not available."

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