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Latest: Two charities associated with the world’s largest far-right Hindu group have raised more than US$24.4 million over a five-year period through US grants that allow the donor to be anonymous, Bellingcat can reveal: www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/10...

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is widely considered the ideological parent of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a former RSS worker, is one of its most famous supporters.

The RSS was previously banned in India three times over its alleged role in violence, and almost a hundred US politicians, both Democratic and Republican, recently pledged not to take funding from RSS-linked entities.

In US public filings for two US-registered non-profits that appeared to have ties to the RSS, documents detailed donations from 2020 to 2024 of at least US$24.4 million from 34 organisations that manage donor-advised funds (DAFs), making up 20.7% of their total received contributions.

Much of the grant spending by these two charities was to organisations or individuals in India or the South Asia region, in the five years from 2020 to 2024. Ekal USA declared $33.7 million in grants for education projects in India, while Sewa reported giving $29.7 million to groups in South Asia.

Ekal USA states it is building schools in rural India. Sewa USA calls itself a “Hindu faith-based, humanitarian, nonprofit service organisation”.