Bengaluru, March 20 : Karnataka-born Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist Dattatreya Hosabale was elected as its new Sarkaryavah (General Secretary) on Saturday. Hosabale, who was holding the responsibility of RSS's Sah Sarkaryavah (Joint General Secretary) till now, replaces Suresh 'Bhaiyyaji' Joshi, who had held this position (second-in-command of the RSS) since 2009. He will be Sarkaryavah for the next three years. The RSS's highest decision making body, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) comprising nearly 1,500 members, elects its Sarkaryavah, once in three years. Hosabale's elevation to the post was expected three years ago, but was delayed. Though Joshi's term has been extended four times in the past, this time it was not feasible because of his age since he is three years older than RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat. This time, around 450 members from across the country are participating in-person, while many more are expected to join online, adding up to a congregation of about 1,400 people. The annual meeting of the ABPS is held at various venues around the country, but once every three years, it is held in Nagpur, where the ABPS elects the Sarkaryavah. Owing to exceptional circumstances triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a change in venue this year, thus Bengaluru has become the first city to elect the Sarkaryavah after Nagpur. The decision was taken during the RSS's annual conclave, the Akhil Bharatiya Prathinidhi Sabha (ABPS), currently underway in Bengaluru. Although the ABPS meets annually, the election for the post of Sarkaryavah (General Secretary) happens once in three years. Hosabale hails from a small village Hosabale of Soraba taluk in Shivamogga district of Karnataka. Coming from a family of RSS activists, he joined its student organisation, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), in 1972. He became a full-time worker of the ABVP in 1978 and went on to become its General Secretary for 15 years. Born on December 1, 1954, Hosabale did his initial schooling in his village and Sagar taluk, before moving to Bengaluru to pursue his college education and joined the famous National College. Later, Hosabale took to literature and did his post-graduation in English Literature from Bengaluru University. During his days as a student, he was active in academics and literary activities. He enjoyed proximity with almost all writers and journalists of Karnataka including Y. N. Krishnamurthy and Gopal Krishna Adiga. Hosabale was imprisoned for more than a year under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the fight to restore democracy against the Emergency imposed by former PM Indira Gandhi. He played an active role in setting up the Youth Development Centre in Guwahati, Assam. Hosabale was the founding editor of Aseema, a Kannada monthly. He became Sah-Baudhik Pramukh (second-in-command of the intellectual wing of the RSS) in 2004. He is fluent in Kannada, Hindi, English, Tamil and Sanskrit. Says Hosabale, the RSS's second-in-command, about the idea of India, "When it comes to the idea of India, there is no dispute as such. The point is that there can be a variety of ideas and each must be permitted its space. It's not necessary that they should be at loggerheads or contradictory to each other." Hosabale views football as a symbol of global oneness. "Football has been a great unifier having admirers, fans, adherents and adepts across civilisations, continents and borders. It has been so since ages -- in ancient India, as in ancient Greece, the game of tackling the ball and hitting it around with the foot was a hugely popular sport enjoyed by the vast majority -- ruler as well as the commoner," he had stated. Widely travelled, Hosabale was also mentor of the organisational activities of the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in the USA and the UK. /IANS