Poojya Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar

Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar (19 February 1906 – 5 June 1973), also known as Shri Guruji, was the second Sarsanghchalak (Supreme Leader) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Golwalkar is the author of two controversial books--Bunch of Thoughts, and We, or Our Nationhood Defined.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a biographical profile of Golwalkar in his book "Jyotipunj"; Modi considers Golwalkar to be one of his inspirations.

Golwalkar was born on 19 February 1906 at Ramtek near Nagpur, Maharashtra. He was the only surviving son of the nine children born to his parents Sadashivrao and Lakshmibai. As a school teacher, his father was frequently transferred around the country, and Golwalkar enrolled in schools in several different locations.

After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in the sciences from the Hislop College in Nagpur in 1926, he joined Benaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi for his Master's degree in science. During this period, he came under the influence of Madan Mohan Malaviya, a nationalist leader and the founder of the University. After completing his degree in 1928, he went to Madras to pursue his doctorate in Marine Life but was unable to complete it for financial reasons. Later, he served at BHU as a professor for three years, teaching zoology. It was here that he earned from his students the affectionate sobriquet of 'Guruji', owing to his beard, long hair and simple robe, a practice that was continued in a reverential manner among his RSS followers in later days. After his teaching tenure, Golwalkar returned to Nagpur and by 1935 had obtained an LL.B. Degree.

In Nagpur, Golwalkar came into contact with the Ramakrishna Mission. He left for the Saragachi Ashram in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, seeking to renounce the world and become a sanyasi. At the ashram, he became a disciple of Swami Akhandananda, a direct disciple of Ramakrishna and gurubandhu of Vivekananda. On 13 January 1937, he was initiated into the order and eventually, received his 'diksha' but his guru refused to permit him to become a sanyasi and directed him to continue his social service. He returned to Nagpur after his guru died in 1937.

While Golwalkar was lecturing at BHU, Bhaiyaji Dani, a student at BHU and a close associate of RSS Sarsanghachalak K. B. Hedgewar, founded an RSS shakha in Varanasi. Inspired by the ideology and methodology of the RSS, Golwalkar joined the RSS and eventually, following a meeting with Hedgewar, went to the RSS' "Officers Training Camp" in Nagpur.

Hedgewar was deeply impressed by Golwalkar and, after his return from the Ramakrishna Mission, persuaded him to take a more active role in the RSS. About his new role, Golwalkar said: "Like spirituality, organization of the Nation has also been my inclination from early days. I believe that I would be in a better position to achieve it successfully being a part of the Sangh." He rose rapidly through the ranks of the organization, and was appointed General Secretary of the RSS in 1939. Golwalkar succeeded Hedgewar as the RSS Sarsanghachalak when the latter died in 1940.

In his role as the Sarsanghachalak, Golwalkar began a series of countrywide tours for interacting with the Sangh workers and propagating the RSS ideology. Under his leadership, Sangh activities grew and shakhas were established all over the country. He was the force behind the formation of the network of numerous socio-cultural organisations in the entire country, popularly referred to as the Sangh Parivar. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh (political party), Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (trade union), Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (students union), Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram (Tribal welfare) and many other organizations were started by Swayamsevaks who forayed into various fields of public life.

RSS expanded into Kashmir and Jammu starting in 1940, when Balraj Madhok was sent as a pracharak to Jammu, with Prem Nath Dogra being the sanghchalak (Director). A shakha was started in Srinagar in 1944 and Golwalkar himself visited Srinagar in 1946. On 18 October 1947, he met the Maharaja Hari Singh upon the request of Vallabhbhai Patel, India's Home Minister, to persuade the Maharaja to accede to India. He was accompanied by Vasantrao Oak, the RSS pracharak for Delhi, and Narendrajit Singh, the RSS sanghchalak for United Provinces. It is believed that the Maharaja agreed to the proposal but the formal accession was signed only on the 26 October, after the invasion by raiders from Pakistan.