Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet ministers briefed the senior leadership of the Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on their government's achievements during a three-day meeting last month.
The meeting, though not the first of its kind, was the largest in scope, said the Straits Times.
Cabinet ministers reportedly gave presentations and received feedback from RSS leaders, who maintained the meeting was merely to better connect with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
For many, it was a sign of the group's clout. The RSS, which describes itself as a cultural and social organisation, is the country's most powerful Hindu group and seen as the ideological mentor of the BJP.
It is affiliated with dozens of other outfits through the Sangh Parivar or family of the RSS, which represents the Hindu nationalist movement.
Scores of Hindu groups, some directly affiliated to the RSS and others working independently, operate throughout the country, where 80 per cent of the population is Hindu.
Some groups affiliated with the RSS regularly grab headlines, while others work quietly in specific areas like education, social work and trade unionism.
Among prominent groups promoting Hindu culture is the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) or the World Hindu Council, the religious face of the RSS.
Founded by RSS leaders in 1964, it is now in the news for issuing a decree prohibiting Muslims from entering dance programmes in the state of Gujarat.
The VHP, which warned of "dire consequences" for those who ignore the ban, claimed that it aimed to prevent a "love jihad" - Hindu women eloping with Muslim men. 
The VHP has many wings, including one to protect cows, and others to promote religious regeneration and Sanskrit.
The VHP's youth wing Bajrang Dal has often hit the headlines for shenanigans like disrupting Valentine's Day celebrations and harassing young couples. Last year, they threw rotten tomatoes at couples celebrating Valentine's Day in at least one city.
Other groups that have been making news include the All India Hindu Mahasabha, which is not affiliated to the RSS. The police recently filed a case against its leader Sadhvi Deva Thakur for saying that Muslims and Christians should undergo sterilisation to restrict their populations from increasing because that posed a threat to Hindus.
What worries the police and security agencies most is the rise of extremist Hindu groups.
Members of the Abhinav Bharat have been accused of being behind several blasts in recent years - including in 2008 in the town of Malegaon in the state of Maharashtra which killed several people, and in 2007 in the Pakistan-bound Samjhauta Express train which killed 68.
The Sanatan Sanstha has been in the news over the arrest of one of its members for the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare, a Communist Party of India member, who was shot dead outside his house in February this year.
The group is also believed to be connected to the killing of rationalist and author M.M. Kalburgi in August. There have been calls to ban the group.
Meanwhile, India's literary world is in revolt as more than 40 writers, playwrights and poets have returned the country's top literary award to protest against rising religious intolerance, attacks on writers and the recent lynching of a man by a mob who thought he had slaughtered a cow.
Hindi-language poet and writer Kashinath Singh, a resident of the city of Varanasi, Prime Minister Modi's parliamentary constituency, last Friday became the latest in the last two months to give up the award he received in 2011 from the Sahitya Akademi, or National Academy of Letters, an autonomous body that gets funding from the government.
"A serious threat looms large on the freedom of speech," he told reporters while announcing his decision.
Intellectuals feel that these groups are bent on polarising the country along religious lines and criticise what they say is a tepid response by the government. Delhi, in turn, has accused the authors of political motives and trying to create a crisis for the Modi government.
Two incidents in particular have shaken the literary community. One was the August killing of Sahitya Akademi award winner M. M. Kalburgi, 77.
He was shot dead reportedly for speaking out against superstition and idol worship, a Hindu practice. The police are still investigating his murder and have released sketches of the suspects.
The second case was the lynching of Muslim blacksmith Mohammad Akhlaq by a Hindu mob in village Dadri last month over rumours that he had slaughtered a cow. Ten people have been arrested in the case.
"India is a pluralist society with many cultures and religions. All of them have to be respected," said Mr Uday Prakash, a noted Hindi writer and poet. "Dissenting thoughts or voices were being silenced and when it came to physical attack - that bothered me the most."
On Sept 4, Mr Prakash became the first to return the Sahitya Akademi Award.
Others followed swiftly, including Ms Nayantara Sahgal, the niece of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Suddenly deluged with returned awards, the Akademi has called a meeting for Oct 23.
Writers were also angry that the Akademi did not respond to the death of Mr Kalburgi the way they would have expected.
Still other incidents have raised concerns of the literary world this year.
In January, well-known Tamil writer Perumal Murugan announced on Facebook that he had decided to give up writing after protests by Hindu and caste-based groups claiming that he had degraded a Hindu deity in his work.
On the government's behalf, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley responded. "The new strategy of anti-Modi, anti-BJP sections appears to be to resort to politics by other means," he posted on Facebook on Oct 14. "The easiest way is to manufacture a crisis and subsequently manufacture a paper rebellion against the government."
While there is division within the literary community on whether returning an award is the right way to protest, many still blame the government for not moving swiftly to condemn communal incidents.
Weeks after Mr Akhlaq was lynched, Mr Modi last Wednesday called the incident "unfortunate and unwarranted" but said the federal government had little role in the incident. Under India's federal structure, states are responsible for law and order within their borders.
English- and Hindi-language writer Mridula Garg said intolerance was increasing because of the weak government response.
"This intolerance is increasing because it is often encouraged by the ministers of the government, whether it is the BJP or other parties," she said. "When nobody is condemning the intolerance, it will go on. In this atmosphere, who will speak against it? Writers and artists have to speak."
The communal incidents followed by the writers' protest are already seen to have hurt the Modi government's image and campaign pledge promising inclusive growth.
"It has hit the government quite strongly and it does dent the image of the government and that is the intention of those who are protesting," said Dr Sandeep Shastri, pro vice-chancellor of Jain University in Bangalore. "They feel it is important to highlight the fact that the government is not being as inclusive in its approach as they want it to be."