GOLWALKAR- THE MYTH BEHIND THE MAN THE MAN BEHIND THE MACHINE

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.‘In Jha’s able hands we see the evolution of a figure who is both hugely ambitious resentful anxious and insular as he faces a new India based on secular and democratic principles.’—Christophe Jaffrelot author ‘Well-researched exhaustive accessibly written… Jha argues that Golwalkar’s ideology was rooted in a deeply exclusionary conception of national identity where religious minorities particularly Muslims were viewed a potential threats to Hindu cultural supremacy.’—Manoj Kumar Jha MP (Rajya Sabha) Rashtriya Janata Dal‘A disturbing book because its revelations on the inner working of the RSS do little to inspire confidence in its professed nationalist and democratic credentials.’—Mridula Mukherjee historianThis is one of the most detailed biographies available of M. S. Golwalkar the RSS’s second chief who tried to establish the character of India as a Hindu nation.’—Shashi Warrier The Asian Age‘Mr Jha’s painstakingly researched book provides a vivid look into Golwalkar’s mind… and unknown details of his life.’—Business Standard‘A substantial portion of Jha’s work focuses on Golwalkar’s book We our Our Nationhood Defined… Golwalkar as his work shows was in favour of imitating Hitler’s treatment of Jews when it came to minorities in India.’—The Telegraph‘Jha’s work illuminates the life of Golwalkar in a new light laboriously picking out the facts from the legends built around him.’—Scroll