Hindutva for the Changing Times

Hindutva for the Changing Times contains around 25 articles published over a period of three decades in various newspapers, magazines and news portals. The book discusses an array of diverse subjects and ideas, ranging from the evolution of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh viz-a-viz the Indian Communist movement and to Data security and sovereignty and Supreme Court verdicts on Ayodhya and Sabarimala. Among the other important topics discussed in the present volume are: an essay on Hindutva for the changing times, a comparative analysis of Left liberalism and Hindu universalism, the importance of dialogue and debate in Hindu tradition, the CPM’s political violence, the past and present of West Bengal and the philosophical, economic as well as ecological standpoints of Hindutva in the modern parlance.

An article on the complex relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and Veer Savarkar busts the Communist propaganda against the latter, including the accusation of writing clemency letters to the British. The author goes to the original sources and quotes Mahatma Gandhi who called Veer Savarkar “brave”, “clever” and “true son of Bharat”. Quoting a note by Gandhiji, the article divulges the positive views of Gandhi about VD Savarkar and his elder brother, GD Savarkar: “The Savarkar Brothers’ talent should be utilised for public welfare. As it is, India is in danger of losing her two faithful sons, unless she wakes up in time. One of the brothers I know well. I had the pleasure of meeting him in London. He is brave. He is clever. He is a patriot. He was frankly a revolutionary. The evil, in its hideous form, of the present system of government, he saw much earlier than I did. He is in the Andamans for his having loved India too well. Under a just government, he would be occupying a high office. I, therefore, feel for him and his brother.”

Most of the articles in the present volume were originally published in various publications like Organiser Weekly, The Sunday Guardian, Indusscrolls.com, Kesari etc. Some of them are the transcriptions of his speeches made in Malayalam, Hindi and English.

Famous author and Hindutva philosopher Vamadeva Shastri (David Frawley), in the foreword of the book, says, “His (the author’s) aim is to frame and articulate a Bharatiya view of culture that can counter the outside trends that seek to undermine India’s vast heritage, and to revitalize that for another century.”

Elaborating on the content of the book, Vamadeva Shastri says that the book shows the variety and depth of nationalist thought in India and how it is serving both to create a new India and to preserve India’s older dharmic civilizational heritage. Such a wide range of topics covers all the crucial issues facing India today.

According to the author, his articles on various topics are mostly the result of organisational exigencies. “Most of my prose and verse happened after persistent compulsion from my fellow-karyakartas or publishers,” says J Nandakumar in the author’s note. “Nandakumarji has brought together numerous important Bharatiya thinkers in educational and cultural platforms under Prajna Pravah, meeting in different parts of the country on a regular basis. I have participated in several of these events and experienced first-hand the depth and detail through which he and this organization functions. Clearly such dynamic thinkers are essential for India to flourish not only as a nation but as a civilization and to maintain its cultural and spiritual heritage for all humanity. His voice needs to be heard, along with that of the groups and individuals that he is associated with,” writes Vamadeva Shastri.