Several observers believe that the RSS functionary’s remarks indicate a reassessment of strategic calculations by both nations amid the continuing global instability caused by the conflict in West Asia.
Srinagar: The contentious comments by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale that New Delhi should not completely shut the path to dialogue with Islamabad suggest that India and Pakistan could be moving toward a diplomatic opening, analysts say.
Whether the observations by Hosabale, which have been criticised by some within the ideological core of the Hindu far right as well as the opposition Congress, eventually result in a full-scale dialogue on restoring bilateral relations remains uncertain.
However, the RSS leader’s proposal, which comes a year after Operation Sindoor, and Islamabad’s response to it indicate that the two nuclear-capable neighbours may have realised they cannot risk another confrontation over Kashmir, analysts noted.
In an interview to PTI, Hosabale stated: “If Pakistan behaves like a pinprick attempting to trigger incidents like Pulwama, etc., we must respond suitably according to the circumstances because the security and dignity of a country and nation must be safeguarded, and the government of the day should take note of it and act accordingly. But at the same time, we should not shut the doors. We should always remain prepared for dialogue. That is why diplomatic relations exist, trade and business continue, and visas are issued. So we should not halt these, because there must always be a window for dialogue.”
The Congress has attacked the ruling Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) over the comments which have, however, received broad backing including from former Army chief general (retd) Manoj Naravane, the ruling National Conference (NC) patron Farooq Abdullah in J&K and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president and former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti.
Islamabad has also welcomed the remarks, describing them as “a positive development”. Pakistan’s foreign office last week expressed hope that “good sense will prevail in India”.
Some commentators believe that the RSS leader’s statement reflects a recalibration of strategic thinking by the two countries amid the ongoing international turbulence arising from the conflict in West Asia.
Sheikh Showkat Hussain, senior political commentator and former dean at the School of Legal Studies, Central University of Kashmir, said that the appeal for the revival of Indo-Pak dialogue appears to be the “realisation of devastating consequences to which the confrontation” over Kashmir could push the two nations.
“The RSS has been asked to set the process in motion lest they obstruct any initiative toward resolution that may follow. We must keep our fingers crossed as invisible forces within the establishments have derailed earlier such initiatives,” Hussain said.
However, Aditya Sinha, senior journalist and co-author of The Spy Chronicles: RAW, ISI and the Illusion of Peace, among other books, argued that New Delhi was not acting independently.
He said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India was “yielding under American pressure” to repair its ties with Pakistan, and the RSS leader’s remarks are a “clear indication” that New Delhi may already be softening.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly asserted that he brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan following the May 2025 conflict, though New Delhi has rejected such claims as “baseless”.
Trump has repeatedly praised Islamabad and more specifically its “fantastic” field marshal Asim Munir for his mediatory role in the US-Iran negotiations.
The US president hosted Munir twice, and Pakistan has handed over several high-profile terrorists to the US under his military leadership besides signing agreements on crypto and mineral extraction.
On the other hand, many believe that India’s standing in Washington has weakened in recent years under the Modi government including over the alleged Indian plot to assassinate US citizen and Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
An Indian national Nikhil Gupta who allegedly worked with Vikash Yadav, an intelligence officer with India’s external intelligence agency RAW, was arrested in connection with the alleged conspiracy.
In 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Indian billionaire and Modi associate Gautam Adani over alleged bribes linked to a solar energy project.
Last week, The New York Times reported that Adani has agreed to pay a proposed $6 million penalty whereas his nephew Sagar Adani, who is also an accused in the matter, has agreed to pay $12 million under the proposed settlement agreement filed in a federal US court earlier this month, though it still requires a judge’s approval.
“I think it is entirely American pressure,” Sinha said, referring to Hosabale’s comments, “But India and the RSS will go through the motions. Modi won’t say anything because it weakens his brand.”
Jammu-based political commentator and senior journalist Zafar Choudhary said that the timing of the RSS leader’s remarks deserves more scrutiny than the suggestion itself.
“RSS has long maintained a position of engaging Pakistan through people-to-people interaction. However, the organisation draws a clear distinction between engaging with the people and not the government and its institutions. Despite this being a consistently articulated position over decades, its impracticality has never been questioned – no cross-border civil society interaction can ever be possible without government participation.”
He said that Hosabale’s proposal was a continuation of “recent developments” including Union defence minister Rajnath Singh’s speech at the Shanghai Corporation Organisation in Bishkek on May 14.
Singh had faced criticism in India for his statement that terrorism had no religion and no nationality, which sharply contrasts with the Modi government’s public position that Pakistan has been a state sponsor of terrorism in the region.
The statement came a year after three terrorists in Pahalgam singled out a group of tourists on the basis of their Hindu identity and shot them dead, prompting Congress to allege that Singh had effectively given a clean chit to Pakistan.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that Singh’s statement reflected the Modi government’s “policy appeasement of the US and calibrated capitulation to China”.
In its 2026 Annual Report, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended that the US should impose sanctions on the RSS and designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern.”
Choudhary said that since RSS has been facing growing criticism from the West, the statement favouring engagement with Pakistan coming soon after Hosabale’s US visit cannot be viewed in isolation.
He said that the RSS leader’s proposal could either be in coordination with or at the urging of the BJP-led Union government to gauge public response or a message to the West that the organisation’s views are rooted in a civilisational ethos of dialogue. He said there are precedents from the past where RSS has provided cover for the Modi government and earlier Vajpayee government’s policy shifts.
“In Delhi’s strategic community, it is believed that the policy of zero engagement with Pakistan offers no advantage. The war on Iran and the resulting crisis of security, energy and navigation has forced recalibration across multiple borders,” he said.
Choudhary said that India may also be considering limited engagement with Pakistan for strategic reasons. “For instance, with Chabahar port in crisis, India’s overland access to Afghanistan and onward to Central Asia could only be through Pakistan. This is merely one example. There are several instances from the past suggesting that potential incidents of terrorist violence could be prevented more effectively when the two countries remained engaged with each other”.