Treatise in favor of a Hindu state from a religious point of view.

FROM THE AUTHOR OF GANDHI'S ASSASSIN ‘A compelling portrait of M. S. Golwalkar.’—Thomas Blom Hansen ‘…[biography of] one of the most secretive public figures of post-independence India.’—Chistophe Jaffrelot ‘A disturbing book, because of its revelations on the inner working of the RSS.’—Mridula Mukherjee Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, or Guruji as he is reverentially referred to by his followers, is regarded as the demi-god of Hindutva politics and often accorded a status higher than even the founder of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, K. B. Hedgewar. In 1940, when 34-year-old Golwalkar unexpectedly assumed charge of the RSS on Hedgewar’s death, the Hindu militia was still in its nascent stage, with pockets of influence mainly in Maharashtra. Under Golwalkar’s leadership over the next three decades, the RSS and its allied organizations, known as the Sangh Parivar, extended its network across the entire country and penetrated almost every aspect of Indian society. Golwalkar’s ideological influence was enormous—and it did not end with his death. Golwalkar’s prescriptions in his incendiary book We or Our Nationhood Defined, published in 1939, now became central to the ideological training and radicalization of youth dedicated to the idea of a Hindu Rashtra. Here, Golwalkar prescribed a solution to India’s ‘minority problem’ based on the Nazi treatment of Jews in the Third Reich. As Dhirendra K. Jha conclusively establishes in this book, this would eventually provide the core of the Sangh’s credo and, as events in the recent past have borne out, have a lasting influence on Indian politics. Drawing from a wealth of original archival material and interviews, the deeply researched and scholarly Golwalkar: The Myth Behind the Man, the Man Behind the Machine pierces through the many legends built around the man in the biographies written by his loyalists during his own lifetime. Jha traces Golwalkar’s path from a directionless youth to a demagogue who plotted to capture political power by countering the secularist vision of nationalist leaders from Nehru to Gandhi. Ambitious, insecure, tactical and secretive—Jha draws a compelling and sinister portrait of one of the most prominent Hindutva leaders, and of the RSS and its worldview that evolved under him.

A riveting account of how a popularly elected leader has steered the world's largest democracy toward authoritarianism and intolerance Over the past two decades, thanks to Narendra Modi, Hindu nationalism has been coupled with a form of national-populism that has ensured its success at the polls, first in Gujarat and then in India at large. Modi managed to seduce a substantial number of citizens by promising them development and polarizing the electorate along ethno-religious lines. Both facets of this national-populism found expression in a highly personalized political style as Modi related directly to the voters through all kinds of channels of communication in order to saturate the public space. Drawing on original interviews conducted across India, Christophe Jaffrelot shows how Modi's government has moved India toward a new form of democracy, an ethnic democracy that equates the majoritarian community with the nation and relegates Muslims and Christians to second-class citizens who are harassed by vigilante groups. He discusses how the promotion of Hindu nationalism has resulted in attacks against secularists, intellectuals, universities, and NGOs. Jaffrelot explains how the political system of India has acquired authoritarian features for other reasons, too. Eager to govern not only in New Delhi, but also in the states, the government has centralized power at the expense of federalism and undermined institutions that were part of the checks and balances, including India's Supreme Court. Modi's India is a sobering account of how a once-vibrant democracy can go wrong when a government backed by popular consent suppresses dissent while growing increasingly intolerant of ethnic and religious minorities.

Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar (1906-73) Was The Second Sarsanghachalak Or Supreme Guide Of The Hindu Nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Rss), A Position He Held For Thirty-Three Years. Though He Was Not Its Founder, He Cast The Organization In His Own Image, And Remains To This Day The Most Influential Ideologue Not Only Of The Rss But Also Of All The Organizations Inspired By It Including The Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp), Which Led The Country S Ruling Coalition From 1999 To 2004. This Unprecedented And Extremely Important Book Is Perhaps The First To Examine Golwalkar S Thought And His Legacy Closely And Critically. Focusing On The Arguments Delineated In The Writings And Speeches Of Golwalkar, Jyotirmaya Sharma Questions The Assumptions Upon Which The Ideologues And Champions Of Hindutva Seek To Establish A Hindu Nation In India. As It Highlights How Much These Arguments Derive From Eighteenth-And Nineteenth-Century Indologists, And How Closely They Parallel Fascist Ideology, The Book Unravels The Confusion, Intolerance And Intellectual Deficit That Has Gone Into Hindu Nationalist Thinking. It Comes To The Conclusion That The Politics Of Hindu Nationalism Feeds On A Dangerous Concept Of The Nation State And A Misunderstanding Of The Very Idea Of What Hinduism Is And Who Is A Hindu. In Doing So, The Book Also Provides An Opportunity To Engage With The Politics Of Hindutva And Its Various Manifestations In The Contemporary Political Scenario. Praise For Hindutva: Exploring The Idea Of Hindu Nationalism A Valuable, Well-Considered Contribution To The Discussion On The Antithesis Of Secularism Frontline An Excavation Of The Intellectual Genealogy Of Hindutva&[Jyotirmaya Sharma] Has A Gift For Communicating Complex Ideas In Lucid Prose The Telegraph Hindutva Is Short And Written For The Lay Person, Free Of The Academic Exhibitionism That Mars So Many Books On Philosophy, Yet A Product Of Deep Reading And Research. It Is An Important Book India Today Jyotirmaya Sharma S Book, Perhaps For The First Time, Presents A Detailed Descriptive And Historical Account Of Both The Idea Of Hindutva And Its Historical Development. It Fills An Enormous Gap Seminar

Biography of Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, 1906-1973, second "sarasanghachalak" of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Time and history have proved that among the modern India's organisers of men and movements, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Second Sarsanghchaalak Shri Guruji Golwalkar occupies a place in the topmost few. For more than three decades till his death, he, with no respite and rest, covered the entire length and breadth of this vast country on wheels, wings or legs with no unfortunate occasion to cancel any scheduled programme. Never in his life did he reach a programme late. With a diligent team as unfailing as himself, he built up the largest organisation of our times, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, with a very wide network. With an absolutely self-reliant structure and a unique working system evolved out of native genius, this organisation today is nothing short of a phenomenon; comparable only to itself. Any inquisitive mind, candid and unprejudiced, would like very much to delve deep into the lives of men who built up such a movement. In case of Shri Guruji, the attention is bound to be more compelling due to the fact that here was person maligned and cursed all through by the powers that be; but who, despite them, unflinchingly and relentlessly, paced towards his cherished goal. Golwalkar was truly 'Goal Walker', come what may. This is a comprehensive, well referenced biography of spiritual and social stalwart Shri Guruji that will inspire and motivate millions.