ISLAMABAD: Concerns over the growing role of Hindutva-linked organizations in India’s military education system (Sainak Schools) sharpened on Monday after the Indian American Muslim Council drew attention to reports that a majority of newly approved Sainik Schools have been handed to institutions linked to the RSS, BJP leaders and allied Hindu groups.
The controversy centers on the Union government’s expansion of the Sainik School system through a public-private partnership model launched in 2021.
Under the scheme, private entities, NGOs and trusts can partner with the state to run new Sainik Schools, which are meant to prepare students for entry into the National Defence Academy and other military institutions.
Critics say the model has opened the door to ideological influence in a system historically associated with secular, state-run military preparation.
A report cited by The New Indian Express said that 62% of the first 40 approved schools were allotted to organizations linked to the Sangh Parivar, BJP politicians, their associates and Hindu religious bodies.
The findings, based on government press releases and RTI (right to information) responses, have fuelled allegations that the scheme is being used not simply to widen access to military-style education, but to reshape it along ideological lines.
National Herald argued that the development represents a deeper institutional shift with possible long-term consequences for the armed forces.
The original Sainik Schools, run by the Sainik Schools Society under the defense ministry, have traditionally been seen as feeder institutions for the military.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has said these schools have produced more than 7,000 officers for the armed forces.
The concern is not only about who runs the schools, but about what values may be embedded in them.
Among the institutions identified in the reporting were schools linked to Sadhvi Ritambhara, Bhonsala Military School in Nagpur, and entities associated with BJP leaders in several states.
Retired military officers warned that ideological capture of military preparatory institutions could erode the constitutional and secular character of the armed forces.
Former deputy Army chief Lt Gen Zameeruddin Shah said the government appeared to be trying to create an “indoctrinated” intake for the Army, while others described the trend as dangerous and unconstitutional.
Together, the reports have triggered a wider debate over whether the expansion of Sainik Schools is becoming a vehicle for political influence over India’s defence culture.
