RSS and Gandhi: The Idea of India

This book explores the relationship between Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and discusses their relevance in India’s history and 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 that continue to be relevant today. These include the practice of untouchability, tensions and conflicts between communities, the treatment of minorities and the marginalized, 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 the RSS while also focusing on areas where they converged. This book will be of interest to students, researchers, and academics working in the areas of modern Indian history, political science and philosophy. It will also be interesting to general readers curious about Gandhi and the RSS.