Decoding the RSS

The RSS can’t stand this book. When it was first published in Marathi, RSS cadres made a public bonfire of it in Pune.

Raosaheb Kasbe presents an incisive critique of M.S. Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts, the main ideological treatise of the RSS. Kasbe traces the historical roots of cultural nationalism as outlined by Golwalkar, and exposes its authoritarianism. His study of the functioning of the RSS reveals its communal blueprint, its anti-modern views and anti-democratic objectives.

Kasbe challenges the RSS on its own turf — its interpretation of Hinduism. Through a rigorous critique of Golwalkar’s text and careful analysis of ancient texts, Kasbe shows how the RSS version of Hinduism is unapologetically casteist and deeply patriarchal.

Four decades and seven editions after its first publication, Kasbe’s zestful polemic is finally available for the first time in English, with an Introduction by scholar and activist Shamsul Islam.