Many Shades of Saffron addresses the polarised landscape of literature surrounding the RSS. Insider accounts have often been devotional, while outsider critiques have tended to be suspicious, even hostile. Both have contributed to a climate in which the RSS is either heroised or demonised, with little space for historical nuance. Ghose consciously avoids both traps.
For generations, Naveen’s family has been associated with the RSS. His grandfather, Deenanath Arora, was a leader of the Hindu organisation during the pre-independence era.
In a significant blow to the Congress-led Siddaramaiah government, the Dharwad Bench of the Karnataka High Court has stayed the controversial order mandating prior government approval for private organisations to hold events on public premises.
In recent years, Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah, Priyank Kharge and Mallikarjun Kharge have repeatedly argued that India should be the land of Basavanna, Buddha and Ambedkar, all invoked in political contexts that distance themselves from Hinduism.
The suspension of a Panchayat Development Officer in Karnataka for participating in an RSS Path Sanchalan has sparked a fresh political storm, with BJP...