Lost Years of the RSS is a historical analysis of the events that have shaped the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in its 85 years of existence. Written from an insider's perspective, this in-depth work critically analyzes the major turning points in the history of RSS from the viewpoint of both a follower and an opponent, while digging deep into its socio-political history.

Beginning with the political ethnography of the RSS, the book charts the organization's growth over time—from the Partition, the first ban, the Golwalkar and Deoras periods, the demolition of Babri Masjid, to the present, when the original principles of the Sangh have been forgotten, leading to the current decadence within the organization.

The author concludes with suggestions for a way forward for the RSS, wherein the lessons learned from the past can be put to use and the original values can be reinstated. At the heart of the book is the author's implicit desire to contradict the current media representations of the Sangh and portray the RSS as what it was actually meant to be.

Withdrawal, Return and Ascent of Deoras

Withdrawal, Return and Ascent of Deoras

Withdrawal, return and ascent of Deoras

The Golwalkar Model Wrenched Free

The establishment of Golwalkar's leadership, the differences over 1942, the failure to raise a united front against the Partition, the Partition itself and its terrible aftermath, Gandhi's murder and the first ban on the organisation, the demoralisation and the dissidence—it was a tumultuous era for the RSS; in one particular way, a defining moment. And it is also a period marked by the strong differences between the two most important people in the RSS: Golwalkar and Deoras. This is a period that is most guarded in RSS history, the one with the least information available. It is a period that the first- and second-generation RSS members in Nagpur speak of ...

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