GOLWALKAR, THE MAN BEHIND 'HINDU RASHTRA'

The Sangh Parivar seems to be working towards achieving the vision of one of RSS’s chief architects, M.S. Golwalkar, says Dhirendra Jha.

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Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar led the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from 1940 until his death in 1973. With Golwalkar at the helm, the RSS spread its wings across the country. His book, ‘We or Our Nationhood Defined’, remained at the core of RSS ideology, ensuring that the “credo of Indian Muslims as a ‘foreign race’” wielded the most lasting ideological influence” on the RSS and generations of Hindu supremacist leaders. Continuing his study of the Indian Right, Dhirendra K. Jha puts the spotlight on the RSS ideologue in his new book, Golwalkar: The Myth Behind the Man, The Man Behind the Machine. Edited excerpts from an interview.

How much does an author’s ideology interfere with the writing of a subject, especially one as divisive as Golwalkar?

Every author has an ideology, but not all narratives are ideologically driven. I think the problem arises when the author deliberately hides uncomfortable evidence and lets her or his feelings dominate the narrative. The question is not whether the subject is divisive. This problem may mar writings even on non-divisive subjects. As archival records suggest, previous biographers of Golwalkar, instead of basing their narratives on facts, preferred to conceal the truth in order to glorify his personal-ity. False impressions of Golwalkar that they contrived to create resulted in obscuring his real life story.

You contradict previous biographies written on Golwalkar — for example, on his work credentials. How did you sift through the myths?