Penguin Random House India is proud to announce the release one of India’s foremost public intellectuals, Makarand R. Paranjape’s latest work – Hindutva and Hind Swaraj – a penetrating exploration of the ideological clash between Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, and its persistent influence on India’s past, present, and future.
This landmark book examines how the competing visions of Gandhi and Savarkar—non-violent resistance versus armed rebellion, inclusive pluralism versus assertive nationalism—continue to shape India’s cultural, political, and personal landscapes.
By balancing historical inquiry with sharp contemporary analysis, Paranjape invites readers to go beyond binaries, urging a more nuanced, reconciliatory approach to India’s ideological divisions. His central proposition is that a new India requires a balanced discourse—one that acknowledges the complexity of nationalism, democracy, and civilizational identity, while remaining rooted in India’s plural traditions.
Divided into three parts, the first part addresses the lack of historical records in ancient India and the importance of creating a national history to reclaim India’s past. In the part second part, the author examines the discovery of India’s cultural and historical identity, the impact of colonialism, and the need for a balanced discourse that acknowledges the complexity and diversity of Indian society. While the third looks at the e contemporary political landscape, the rise of Hindutva, and the ongoing struggle between Gandhi’s vision of non-violent resistance and Savarkar’s advocacy of armed rebellion. It highlights the unresolved tensions between these two ideologies and their implications for India’s future.
About The Author:
Makarand R. Paranjape has been Professor of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He also served as the Director, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. The author/editor of over 50 books and hundreds of academic papers, he is also a poet, novelist, columnist, and public intellectual. His latest books include JNU: Nationalism and India’s Uncivil War (Rupa, 2022), Identity’s Last Secret (BluOne, 2022), and Swami Vivekananda: Hinduism and India’s Road to Modernity (HarperCollins, 2020). He has been in touch with the works of Sri Aurobindo and modern India’s spiritual masters for over forty years.
The official release for the book is in September 2025
