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Disaster Relief and the RSS: Resurrecting 'Religion' Through Humanitarianism studies the political implications of the humanitarian work of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) by examining the institution of seva (service) in disaster situations. This book provides a refreshingly new perspective of the RSS by recognizing its ‘compassionate’ aspects and understanding its appeal from the point of view of its benefactors. It examines the religious, moral, intellectual and instrumental heritage of seva and discusses the possible reasons for its continual resurrection in modern India. By highlighting the under-analysed aspects of the moral complexity of evaluating the RSS’s humanitarian work, the book provokes the larger question of whether there is a need to move beyond the stereotypical understanding of Hindutva as a challenge to liberal democratic principles. It attempts to nudge the reader towards some of the limitations of the ‘secular’ and the repercussions of the political project of secularism to suppress and de-recognize the non-secular experience.   

Contents: Preface. Introduction. 1. Disaster Relief in India: 'Religious', 'Secular' and Those ‘in Between’. 2. Unpacking a Homonym: Seva and Its Multiple Meanings. 3. Nation Building' through Seva. 4. Seva after the 'Super Cyclone': The Case of UBSS in Odisha. 5. Building a ‘Hindu’ Rashtra in Post-Earthquake Kutch. Conclusion. Bibliography.