This book presents a comprehensive and perceptive study of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh through the first two decades of its history from 1951. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was the most robust of the first generation of Hindu nationalist parties in modern Indian politics and Bruce Graham examines why the party failed to establish itself as the party of the numerically dominant Hindu community. The author explains the relatively limited appeal of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in terms of the restrictive scope of its founding doctrines; the limitations of its leadership and organization; its failure to build up a secure base of social and economic interests; and its difficulty in finding issues which would create support for its particular brand of Hindu nationalism. Bruce Graham ends with a major survey of the party's electoral fortunes at national, state and local levels.

This book analyses the rise and growth of the Hindu nationalist party Bharatiya Jana Sangh in post independent India, tracking the electoral journey of the party from 1951 to 1971. Offering a comprehensive analysis of the party Bharatiya Jana Sangh - its origin, ideas and electoral performances in the first two decades of its journey - the book provides an overview of the state-wise electoral record of the party mobilizing Hindu support and managing factional disputes. It surveys the issues of conflicts between the intraparty factions dominated by the recruits from the Rastriya Swayamseyak Sangh and the others. The author also presents a critique of the Hindutva politics of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh on account of its somewhat imperfect appeal among the masses and its problems in raising real issues of socio-economic concern. With a special emphasis on the states situated outside the Hindi language belt of Northern India, the electoral outcome of the Jana Sangh during each national and state legislative elections are analysed. Based on the dialectics of ideology and exigency, this book makes a thorough investigation of the leadership-succession crises in the party, patterns of vote sharing at the regional level and trends of coalition with the non-Congress parties in the states. Providing a nuanced understanding of the processes leading to the strengthening of right-wing political parties in India, the book will be of interest to academics working in the fields of nationalism, party politics and South Asian Politics.

A comprehensive, unbiased and timely biography of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The counting of votes in the general elections of 2014 began on the morning of 16 May. By mid-day, the Bharatiya Janata Party stormed into power with a full majority in the Lok Sabha, the only other party after the Congress in 1984 to have received such a resounding mandate. The BJP traces its origins to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, originally set up by Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951 to take up the cause of Bengali Hindus in erstwhile East Pakistan. A bit player in Indian politics, the Jana Sangh only entered the big league after it forged an alliance with several other players to form the Janata Party and take on Indira Gandhi in 1977. This coalition broke up in 1980 and it was then that the BJP emerged in its present avatar. Today, the party has a pan-Indian presence with a devoted base, not just within the country but also among the Hindu diaspora worldwide. However, the BJP's remarkable rise has not been without struggle. It was only in 1998 nearly two decades after its founding that the party first tasted power. Voted out in 2004, the BJP sat in the Opposition for a decade before taking up the reins again in 2004. And, while the BJP, since its inception, has presented a popular democratic alternative to the Congress, it has struggled to shed its image of being overtly wedded to the pro-Hindutva agenda. In The Saffron Tide, a timely biography of the BJP, Kingshuk Nag traces the history of the party of India and crystal-gazes to estimate the course that it will chart for itself in the coming years. Balanced, informative and thought-provoking, this volume will be indispensable for anyone interested in the political history of post-Independence India. Key Features: Written by an author and political journalist with years of experience under his belt, this book will be the most current and first comprehensive biography of the party since The Brotherhood in Saffron by Walter Anderson and Shridhar Damle that was released in 1988. It is extremely timely, keeping in mind the general elections. The forward-looking epilogue has been written after the results were declared and this is the first book in the market that talks about the aftermath of the result. In a completely unbiased manner, Kingshuk Nag traces the BJP's rise in a book that will be read by all those interested in the party's philosophy, its origins and its future.

Hindu nationalism came to world attention in 1998, when the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won national elections in India. Although the BJP was defeated nationally in 2004, it continues to govern large Indian states, and the movement it represents remains a major force in the world's largest democracy. This book presents the thought of the founding fathers and key intellectual leaders of Hindu nationalism from the time of the British Raj, through the independence period, to the present. Spanning more than 130 years of Indian history and including the writings of both famous and unknown ideologues, this reader reveals how the "Hindutuva" movement approaches key issues of Indian politics. Covering such important topics as secularism, religious conversion, relations with Muslims, education, and Hindu identity in the growing diaspora, this reader will be indispensable for anyone wishing to understand contemporary Indian politics, society, culture, or history.

The rise of strong nationalist and religious movements in postcolonial and newly democratic countries alarms many Western observers. In The Saffron Wave, Thomas Hansen turns our attention to recent events in the world's largest democracy, India. Here he analyzes Indian receptivity to the right-wing Hindu nationalist party and its political wing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which claims to create a polity based on "ancient" Hindu culture. Rather than interpreting Hindu nationalism as a mainly religious phenomenon, or a strictly political movement, Hansen places the BJP within the context of the larger transformations of democratic governance in India. Hansen demonstrates that democratic transformation has enabled such developments as political mobilization among the lower castes and civil protections for religious minorities. Against this backdrop, the Hindu nationalist movement has successfully articulated the anxieties and desires of the large and amorphous Indian middle class. A form of conservative populism, the movement has attracted not only privileged groups fearing encroachment on their dominant positions but also "plebeian" and impoverished groups seeking recognition around a majoritarian rhetoric of cultural pride, order, and national strength. Combining political theory, ethnographic material, and sensitivity to colonial and postcolonial history, The Saffron Wave offers fresh insights into Indian politics and, by focusing on the links between democracy and ethnic majoritarianism, advances our understanding of democracy in the postcolonial world.

The relationship between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh a cultural organisation and the political parties—Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party is unique in the history of Indian polity. Because of the shared ideology and cadre; the inner working and the interpersonal relationships have been a matter of surmise and conjecture. It has become more so now when the BJP has got an absolute majority to become the ruling party at the centre. With an unbroken relationship stretching from 1951 onwards; it is the informal weave of brotherhood that has made it a successful operation. This book depicts the history; foundation and development of this relationship and how this symbiosis has played out over the years. RSS-BJP SYMBIOSIS by SUCHITRA KULKARNI: This book likely explores the intricate relationship between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Indian politics. Suchitra Kulkarni may delve into the historical, ideological, and political aspects of this symbiotic relationship, providing insights into the influence of the RSS on the BJP and Indian governance. Key Aspects of the Book "RSS-BJP SYMBIOSIS": Political Dynamics: Explores the dynamics between the RSS and BJP in the context of Indian politics. Historical Perspective: Offers insights into the historical evolution and ideological alignment of these organizations. Suchitra Kulkarni likely delves into the complex relationship between the RSS and BJP in "RSS-BJP SYMBIOSIS." This book provides a deeper understanding of their influence on Indian politics.

India is battling for its very soul. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is the most powerful organization in India today; complete with a private army of its own, unquestionably obeying its leader who functions on fascist lines on the Fuehrer principle. Two of its pracharaks (active preachers) have gone on to become prime ministers of India. In 1951 it set up a political front, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which merged into the Janata Party in 1977 only to walk out of it in 1980. In issue was its superior loyalty to its parent and mentor, the RSS; not the Janata Party. Within months of its defection, the Jana Sangh reemerged; not with the name under which it had functioned for nearly three decades, but as the Bharatiya Janata Party, deceptively to claim a respectable lineage. The RSS is at war with India's past. It belittles three of the greatest builders of the Indian State - Ashoka, the Buddhist; Akbar, the Muslim; and Nehru, a civilized Enlightened Hindu. It would wipe out centuries of achievement for which the world has acclaimed India and replace that with its own narrow, divisive ideology. This book is a magisterial study of the RSS, from its formation in 1925 to the present day. With scrupulous and voluminous evidence, one of India's leading constitutional experts and political analysts, A.G. Noorani, builds a watertight case to show how the RSS is much more than a threat to communal amity. It poses a wider challenge. It is a threat to democratic governance and, even worse, a menace to India. It threatens the very soul of India. And yet, despite its reach and seemingly overwhelming political influence, the author shows that the RSS can be defeated. The soul of India can be rescued.