Golwalkar’s “We or our nationhood defined”: A critique with full text of the book (PB)

Golwalkar’s “We or our nationhood defined”: A critique with full text of the book: We are witnessing a concerted attempt by the RSS to establish MS Golwalkar as the ‘prophet of a resurgent India,’ ‘a saint,’ ‘the best son of Bharat mata,’ and the ‘biggest gift to Hindu society in the 20th Century,’… This inspite of the fact that Golwalkar, throughout his life, remained committed to the concept of Hindutva which meant an inherent faith in Casteism, Racism and Imperialism. He stood for the establishment of a Hindu rashtra, or nation, where minorities like Muslims and Christians could exist only as second class citizens. This book attempts to put across actual facts about Golwalkar’s life and beliefs in the light of his original writings, publications of the RSS, documents available in its archives and many other RSS documents the writer collected over the last 35 years from different parts of the country, especially the original text of his book We or Our Nationhood Defined (1939) which is being fully reproduced in this book. It is the most important text in order to understand the RSS’ concept of Hindu state, and has not been available to the public after 1947.

Shamsul Islam taught political science at the University of Delhi. As an author, columnist and dramatist he has been writing against religious bigotry, dehumanization, totalitarianism, persecution of women, Dalits and minorities. He is known globally for fundamental research work on the rise of nationalism and its development in India and the world.