Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics by Christopher Jaffrelot

In this historically rich, detailed account of the Hindu nationalist movement in India since the 1920s, Christophe Jafferlot explores how rabid changes in the political, social and economic climate have made India fertile soil for the growth of the primary arm of Hindu nationalism, a paramilitary-style group known as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), together with its political offshoots. He shows how the Hindu movement uses religion to enter the political sphere, and argues that the ideology the speak for has less to do with Hindu philosophy than with ethnic nationalism. This book makes a major contribution to the study of the genesis and development of religious nationalism, and is essential reading for anyone who seeks to comprehend the spread of ethnic conflict.