Zoho co-founder and chief scientist Sridhar Vembu took part in an RSS march in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, Nov. 1, a public appearance set against his separate account of a teenage Marxist and atheist phase.
Ananthan Ayyasamy said in a post on X that he participated in the procession with Vembu. He identified the event as an RSS Patha Sanchalan, or route march, in Sankarankovil, in Tenkasi district. Ayyasamy also said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officials from district and town units took part.
In a separate post, Vembu recalled that a Marxist Tamil teacher influenced him when he was 14, during 1982-83. “For a period I became a Marxist and atheist thanks to him,” Vembu wrote.
Vembu said he attended a free school for Classes 10-12 funded by someone affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), with an RSS member serving as trustee. He wrote that he did not know what the RSS was while he studied there. His earlier school, for Classes 6-9, was started by someone affiliated with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), he said.
Neither post gives Vembu’s reason for attending, and neither describes a position he holds within the organization.
The Madras High Court addressed the processions in an Oct. 16 order in a petition involving the state. It recorded the state Advocate General’s position that marches planned for Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 could proceed, subject to police adjustments for local conditions. The court then disposed of the petition. Its order also traced repeated litigation over RSS marches in Tamil Nadu to 2022, citing a Supreme Court order from April 2023 and High Court guidelines issued Jan. 5, 2024.
The RSS said its centenary year ran from Vijayadashami 2025 to Vijayadashami 2026. The organization said its executive committee meeting in Indore, scheduled for Nov. 2-4, would review centenary programs, organizational expansion and future plans.
