India: Hindu nationalism and the Congress Party in the 1940s and 1950s

(Economic and Political Weekly, 13th September 2008)

This paper explores the relationship between Hindu nationalism and the Congress in the 1940s and 1950s. It argues that the Congress knowingly and wilfully included and empowered Hindu nationalist ideologues in this period, most notably K M Munshi. Through such membership, the Hindutva agenda was advanced, while the ideology as a whole was rehabilitated and made an acceptable and normative feature of post-colonial Indian political life.

The Hindutva Underground: Hindu Nationalism and the Indian National Congress in Late Colonial and Early Post Colonial India

Economic and Political Weekly, 13th September 2008