 Summary of this article
- The RSS Shakha used physical activities and Baudhik (intellectual) sessions to instill a narrative of Hindu unity, glorifying Hindu history while ignoring caste oppression and marginalizing anti-Brahminical thinkers.
- Figures like Savarkar, Golwalkar, Shivaji, and Rani of Jhansi were celebrated, while reformers, the Indian Constitution, and leaders like Ambedkar and Nehru were minimized or vilified. Myth and history were blended to create a strong ideological identity.
- By adolescence, the author embraced radical Hindutva, but a warning from local authorities initiated a decade-long process of unlearning and critically reflecting on how OBC youth are drawn into Hindutva networks.
My Pune of the 1990s was not the “Oxford of the East”. It was across the Mula-Mutha River, in its underbelly: Yerwada, Nagpur Chawl, Housing Board colonies, and Ambedkar Nagar. These were neighbourhoods of Dalits, Bahujans, Muslims, and Christians, stitched together with narrow lanes, tin roofs, broken drains, and a stubborn will to live. For upper caste Pune, Yerwada evoked only three images: the Cellular Jail, the Mental Hospital, and the Bahujan slums. To them, we were the muck of the city—unseen, unnamed, and best left forgotten. |
