Synopsis:
Sanghi who never went to a Shakha is the story of a person who detested the word Sanghi, but ended up proudly adopting it as a label.
Rahul Roushan was the founder of Faking News, a satirical news website. Back then, Roushan had no special interest in politics.
Roushan felt rather offended when he was first labelled a Sanghi. After all, he held a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Patna University, a postgraduate diploma in journalism from IIMC in New Delhi, and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.
Sanghi literally refers to a person who belongs to the right-wing RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) or its affiliate organizations. The so-called Indian liberals, communists and Marxists, however, use this term to ridicule anyone who is at odds with their political and ideological stand. The term is also used to disparage people who are not ashamed of their Hindu identity.
Sanghi who never went to a Shakha also studies the reasons for the rise of the Hindutva ideology. It also decodes the ideas of Nehruvian secularism and socialism, which kept the country from exploring its civilizational roots for nearly seven decades. Lastly, it expounds why most Indians have started aligning with and relating to the ‘communal politics’ of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Roushan has stressed that the book is neither an autobiography nor a collection of essays. By his own admission, it is ‘a retelling of historical events’ and how these events impacted the author and countless others like him.
Genre: Society and Social Changes
Price: ₹395 ₹345
Format: Paperback
Published: March 2021
Number of Pages: 368
Language: English
Author: Rahul Roushan
Publisher: Rupa Publications India
ISBN-13: 978-9390547661