India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru has become a figure of hate and derision for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership of Narendra Modi and for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), its ideological parent. In this episode of Saffron Siege, Harsh Mander and historian Purushottam Agrawal examine the reasons for their particular resentment against Nehru.

Agrawal ways that Nehru’s modernity of thought, the fact that he never used the idioms of religion in public speech and his relatability to Indians across geography and social divides makes him a symbol that the RSS has never been able to appropriate. “Nehru does not allow them to appropriate himself. So, if you cannot appropriate, you destroy”, says Agrawal.

They also discuss the lack of the RSS’s self-identity beyond its antagonism towards India’s minorities, the fickleness of political parties who once opposed to the RSS and BJP’s fascist ideas and later became their allies, and the reasons behind Hindu radicalisation. You can watch the full conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-0qrJfdTW0k

This episode is part of Season Two of Partitions of the Heart. In this season, Harsh Mander speaks to leading scholars and observers who have studied the RSS closely. Together, they examine its roots and core principles, its Hindutva agenda, and its corrosive role in India’s public and social life across a century

“Saffron Siege” runs from 17 September to 3 December 2025, with a new episode releasing every Wednesday. Himal’s podcasts are available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Production: Imaad ul Hasan, Lydia Smith, Ritika Chauhan, Nayantara Narayanan

Himal Southasian is Southasia’s first and only regional news and analysis magazine. Stretching from Afghanistan to Burma, from Tibet to the Maldives, this region of more than 1.4 billion people shares great swathes of interlocking geography, culture and history. Yet today neighbouring countries can barely talk to one another, much less speak in a common voice. For three decades, Himal Southasian has strived to define, nurture, and amplify that voice.

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