KOCHI: Senior pracharak and ideologue of the Rashtriya Seva Sangh (RSS) Ranga Hari passed away in Kochi on Sunday at the age of 93. Hari, the first RSS leader from Kerala to attain the highest echelons of the organisation, served as the Boudhik Pramukh from 1991 to 2005 and remained an active member of the executive committee.
Following the RSS ban, Hari was imprisoned from December 1948 to April 1949. His contributions extended beyond India, as he provided guidance to the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in Asia and Australia from 1994 to 2005 and traveled extensively to 22 countries, participating in global conferences on pre-Christian religions and tradition.
Known for his literary contributions, Hari authored 20 books in Malayalam, 8 in Hindi, and one in Konkani. He also compiled three Malayalam books and a comprehensive compilation of Golwalkar’s works, titled ‘Shri Guruji Samagra,’ consisting of 12 volumes in Hindi. Born to Ranga Shenoy and Padmavathy in 1930, Hari’s journey with RSS began in 1944.
He became a pracharak in 1951, subsequent to completing his BA in Economics from Maharajas College, Ernakulam. Hari ascended to the position of prant pracharak in Kerala in 1982, later assuming the role of akhila Bharatiya bhoudhik pramukh in 1990.
In January 2022, RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat unveiled Hari’s work, ‘Vyasa Bharathathile Bhishmar’ (Bhishma in Vyas Bharat), a sequel to his earlier publications, including ‘Krishna in Vyas Bharat,’ ‘Karna in Vyas Bharat,’ ‘Droupadi in Vyas Bharat,’ and ‘Narada in Vyas Bharat.’