The Volume Deals With The Organization, The Ideology And The Role Of Rss In The Cultural Reguvination Of Hindu Society In India. It Talks About The Founder And His Successors In Building Up The Organization. Has 28 Chapters Dealing With Various Factors And The Contributions Of The Rss.

Founded in 1925, banned three times by the governments of independent India but with a widespread network of thousands of local branches and millions of volunteers, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) presence and influence is formidable. However, it has long been acknowledged that the best way to know the RSS is to join it. Perhaps, this is why there is very little literature on how it functions. As a senior member who has managed various responsibilities in the RSS over the years, Ratan Sharda reveals the supposedly secret world of this volunteer organisation. He presents a comprehensive view of the Sangh's philosophy, its workings and its humungous reach through various organisations inspired by it across India in a simple and easy-flowing manner, sprinkled with interesting anecdotes. With an insider's knowledge of the philosophy, organisational structure and working of this huge cadre-based organisation, RSS 360o is a compelling read, attempting to lift the alleged veil of secrecy that shrouds the organisation.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a Hindu nationalist volunteer organization. It is also the parent of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Prime Minister Modi was himself a career RSS office-holder, or pracharak. This book explores how the RSS and its affiliates have benefitted from India's economic development and concurrent social dislocation, with rapid modernization creating a sense of rootlessness, disrupting traditional hierarchies, and attracting many upwardly mobile groups to the organization. India seems more willing than ever to accept the RSS's narrative of Hindu nationalism--one that seeks to assimilate Hindus into a common identity representing true 'Indianness'. Yet the RSS has also come to resemble 'the Congress system', with a socially diverse membership containing a distinct left, right and center. The organization's most significant dilemma is how to reconcile the assault from its far right on cultural issues like cow protection with condemnations of globalization from the left flank. Andersen and Damle offer an essential account of the RSS's rapid rise in recent decades, tracing how it has evolved in response to economic liberalization and assessing its long-term impact on Indian politics and society.

In the twenty-first century, there has been a seismic shift in Indian political, religious and social life. The country's guiding spirit was formerly a fusion of the anti-caste worldview of B.R. Ambedkar; the inclusive Hinduism of Mahatma Gandhi; and the agnostic secularism of Jawaharlal Nehru. Today, that fusion has given way to Hindutva. This now-dominant version of Hinduism blends the militant nationalism of V.D. Savarkar; the Brahmanical anti-minorityism of M.S. Golwalkar; and the global Islamophobia of India's ruling regime. It requires deep cultural analysis and historical understanding, as only the sharpest and most profoundly informed historian can provide. For two decades, Tanika Sarkar has forged a path through the alleys and byways of Hindutva. She has trawled through the writing and iconography of its organisations and institutions, including RSS schools and VHP temples. She has visited the offices and homes of Hindutva's votaries, interviewing men and women who believe fervently in their mission of Hinduising India. And she has contextualised this new ferment on the ground with her formidable archival knowledge of Hindutva's origins and development over 150 years, from Bankimchandra to the Babri mosque and beyond. This riveting book connects Hindu religious nationalism with the cultural politics of everyday India.