Conflict Resolution: The RSS Way

In nearly a century of its existence, the RSS has been an object of unwarranted criticism from several quarters for reasons that cannot be called cogent or well-founded. Also, there has been a mystique about it among the common people—whether it is a pillar of Hindu unity, a socio-cultural organisation working on nation building, a well-oiled organisation giving way to the largest party in any democracy and much more. It has faced bans from its detractors, and criticism—often from the people it is supposed to be working for.

This book, through the study of resolutions of the RSS, has filled the gap in the RSS history; indeed, in the history of contemporary India. It focusses on how RSS performed, thought, prevented and held on to its own amid heavy odds and hostility in three major theatres of conflict in the modern Indian history, specifically, post-independence. These are: Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Northeastern Region. The work was part of a PhD thesis on the subject.

“The authors have masterfully illuminated the stand that the Sangh has taken on important issues of national security and integrity, which are central to its beliefs, in the wake of the insurgency in states such as Kashmir, Punjab and the Northeast. A must-read scholarly intervention,” - Vikram Sampath, Author, Savarkar: Echoes from a Forgotten Past (1883-1924)