From two Lok Sabha seats in 1984 to 282 in 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party's steady advance over the last three decades has been accompanied by the burgeoning of fringe organizations such as the Sri Ram Sene, the Hindu Yuva Vahini, the Sanatan Sanstha and the Hindu Aikya Vedi. They stir up trouble, polarize communites, incite violence and even kill ֠all in the name of Hindutva. There has been little insight into the structure of these organizations and their evolution. How do they germinate?
How do they work? How do they tap into local anxieties? Do they function as the shadow armies of the BJP? Do they supply it with foot soldiers? Dhirendra K. Jha seeks answers by investigating eight such organizations across India. Jha engages with RSS pracharaks, Bajrang Dal activists, Sanatan Sanstha lawyers and high-ranking members of the Abhinav Bharat to offer a richly detailed account of their means and methods, bringing to light their deep links with the robust Hindutva ideology that binds them.
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