In this inaugural episode of the podcast “Saffron Siege”, Harsh Mander speaks to Rajmohan Gandhi, a renowned historian and grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, on the hostility of the Hindu Mahasabha and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh towards Gandhi that ultimately led to his assasination in January 1948.

Rajmohan Gandhi describes how Gandhi's demand for an India that belonged equally to all religions, communities and identities set him against the Hindu right. “Those who ultimately did kill him did not want an India for everybody. They wanted an India where some people would be supreme, others would be subservient or junior or second-class,” says Rajmohan Gandhi.

He describes how the Hindu Mahasabha and Hindutva ideologues were also advocates of Partition and kept their distance from India’s struggle for independence from British rule. “Those who do any serious study will know that the RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha kept aloof from the freedom struggle and they openly said that the Muslims are a real enemy and in fact we should cooperate with the British.”You can watch this conversation on YouTube:

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.

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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