This book explores the relationship between Gandhi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—a right-wing Indian organisation and discusses their relevance in India’s history and the socio-political discourse.
It looks back at the Indian independence movement and the key debates and issues that the country was confronted with in the early 1900s which continue to be relevant today. These include the practice of untouchability, tensions and conflicts between communities, the treatment of minorities and the marginalised, debates on the ideology of Hindutva, religious conversion, questions on the cultural and civilizational identity of India and responses to Western modernity. This book discusses the ideological differences between Gandhi and RSS while also focussing on areas where they converged.
This book will be of interest to students, researchers, and academics working in the area of modern Indian history, political science and philosophy. It will also be an interesting read for general readers curious to know understand more about Gandhi and the RSS.
Preface. Introduction 1 Gandhi and RSS on Indian Nation 2 Reflections on Hinduism 3 Response to Religious Conversion in India 4 Reforming Hindu Social Order: Caste and Untouchability Questions 5 Gandhi and RSS: Search for a National Language in India 6 In Defence of Cow Protection 7 Swadeshi: Beyond Economic Reconstruction of India 8 Hindu-Muslim Relations and Minority Questions 9 Critique of Western Industrial Civilization. Bibliography. Index.
Biography
Sangit Kumar Ragi is Professor and former head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Delhi, India. His academic journey spans over three decades of teaching and research experience at the University of Delhi. His areas of research ranges from ethnic conflicts in Indian politics to public policy and Indian political thought. He is the founding editor of the journal, Indian Studies Review. He was a member of the apex review committee for the Prime Ministers Museum in New Delhi. He is also a consultant for a joint project by the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and the Shyama Prashad Mukherjee Foundation to publish the Selected Works of Shyama Prashad Mukherjee.
