Shri Dattatreya Hosabale is elected as the new Sarkaryavah (general secretary) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The decision was taken in RSS’s Akhil Bharatiya Prathinidhi Sabha, the annual conclave of top functionaries of the organisation, which is held in Bengaluru on March 19 and 20. Before his election as the Sarkaryawah of RSS, Shri Dattatreya Hosabale was Sah-Sarakaryavah (Joint-General Secretary) of the organisation.
Shri Dattatreya Hosabale (popularly known as Datta ji in RSS) is from a small village Hosabale of Soraba Taluk in the Shivamogga district of Karnataka. Hailing from a Sangh family, he joined RSS in 1968 and then the student organization ABVP in 1972. He became a full-time worker of ABVP in 1978. He was the General Secretary of ABVP for 15 years with his Head Quarter being Mumbai.
Shri Dattatreya Hosabale’s (born on Dec 1st, 1955) schooling was in his birthplace Hosabale and also in Sagar (taluk Head Quarters). He moved to Bengaluru to pursue his college education and joined the famous National College. Later, Hosabale took to literature and obtained his masters in English Literature from Mysuru University.
During his days as a student, he was active in academics and literary activities. He enjoyed proximity with almost all writers and journalists of Karnataka, notable among them being Y. N. Krishnamurthy and Gopal Krishna Adiga.
Shri Hosabale was imprisoned for more than a year under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the fight to restore democracy against the emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi. He played an active role in setting up the Youth Development Centre in Guwahati, Assam, World Organization of Student and Youth (WOSY).
Shri Dattatreya Hosabale was the founding editor of Aseema, a Kannada monthly. He became Sah-Baudhik Pramukh (second in command of the intellectual wing of RSS) in 2004. He is fluent in Kannada, Hindi, English, Tamil and Sanskrit. He has voiced his opinion on Indian Secularism being anti-Hindu, saying “When it comes to the Idea of India, there is no dispute as such; the point is that there can be a variety of ideas and each must be permitted its space. It’s not necessary that they should be at loggerheads or contradictory to each other”
He termed football as a symbol of global oneness. Football has been a great unifier having admirers, fans, adherents and adepts across civilisations, continents & borders. It has been so for ages – in ancient India, as in ancient Greece the game of tackling the ball and hitting it around with the foot was a hugely popular sport enjoyed by the vast majority – the ruler as well as the commoner.
Widely travelled, Hosabale was also the mentor of organizational activities of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in the USA and UK.
Shri Hosabale will be Sarkaryavah of RSS for the term of three years. The election to the post of Sarkaryavah takes place once in three years.
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