Varanasi Ram Madhav (born 22 August 1964) is an Indian politician who served as the National General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party.[2][3] He is a member of the National Executive of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and has authored a few books. His latest is Uneasy Neighbours: India and China after Fifty Years of the War.[4][5][6]

Ram Madhav
State Incharge, Bharatiya Janta Party
In office
2024
National General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party
In office
2014–2020
President
Personal details
Born
Varanasi Ram Madhav[1]

(1964-08-22) 22 August 1964 (age 60)
Amalapuram, Andhra Pradesh, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
Alma materUniversity of Mysore
OccupationPolitician
Websiterammadhav.in

Early life

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Madhav was born in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on 22 August 1964.[7] Primarily a student of engineering, he earned his Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Andhra Pradesh.[6] He also has a post-graduate degree in Political Science from the University of Mysore, Karnataka.[8]

Political career

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Madhav's association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh began as a teenager. He volunteered to be a full-time worker for RSS in 1981. He was assigned to several key positions in the organization.[9] He has also been the editor of Bharatiya Pragna, a monthly magazine in English published by Pragna Bharati,[8] and associate editor of Jagriti, a Telugu weekly.[10] He worked as a journalist for over 20 years with RSS sponsored publications and has authored more than twelve books. He serves as the Member of the Board of Governors of India Foundation, a New Delhi–based think-tank focused on the issues, challenges, and opportunities of the Indian polity.[11] He is also a mentor at Vision India Foundation, a New Delhi–based think tank working on public leadership amongst youth[12][13]

He served as the national spokesperson of the RSS from 2003 to 2014. Madhav was seconded to the BJP and appointed as one of its national general secretaries in 2014.[9]

External videos
  "Shri Ram Madhav joins BJP in the presence of BJP President Shri Amit Shah - 10th July 2014" Bharatiya Janata Party on YouTube

As a General Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he is credited for the rise of the party in North East India and building alliances with regional parties.[14]

Personal views

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Foreign policy

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He has called for India to take a more "proactive role in the region" in order to check China's One Belt One Road Initiative.[15] He was involved in the BJP's entry into the International Democrat Union, a worldwide grouping of right of centre political parties.[16]

Reception

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British anchor Mehdi Hasan's interview

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On the talk show called Head to Head in Al Jazeera, a Qatari news channel, anchored by Mehdi Hasan on Hindu Nationalism,[17] Ram Madhav's statement on 'your' ISIS[18] to the British anchor with an explanation later published in Indian Express calling it just a slip of tongue [19] After the show, the anchor Mehdi Hasan stated that he was being called an ISIS supporter since then by internet trolls.[20]

Books

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  • Uneasy neighbours : India and China after 50 years of the war, New Delhi : Har-Anand Publications, 2014, 256 p

Hindutva Paradigm

[21]==References==

  1. ^ "Kakinada: Leaders Await Results for Strengthening Party". Deccan Chronicle. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  2. ^ Administrator. "National Office Bearers". bjp.org. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Amit Shah: Congress will have to give ads to find candidates". IndiaToday.in. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Ram Madhav on Twitter". Twitter.
  5. ^ "Ram Madhav's new book "Uneasy Neighbours: India and China after Fifty Years of the War"". samvada.org. 20 February 2014. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  6. ^ a b "About". rammadhav.in.
  7. ^ "Ram Madhav]: BJP leader Ram Madhav's mother passes away | India News". The Times of India. 16 May 2018.
  8. ^ a b "The Pracharak Is Going Places". outlookindia.com. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  9. ^ a b "RSS leader Ram Madhav to join BJP". The Times of India. 7 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Ram Madhav is emerging as BJP's firefighter". SundayGuardianLive. 26 September 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  11. ^ "President for RSS think-tank meet". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Team". 19 December 2014. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Policy BootCamp 2019: Sh. Ram Madhav on "Ideas for Transforming India"". YouTube. 28 June 2019. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021.
  14. ^ SHANKER ARNIMESH (26 September 2019). "Where is Ram Madhav — the RSS pracharak who was Modi's Man Friday not long ago". theprint.in. ThePrint. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  15. ^ "India needs to focus eastward: Ram Madhav". The Hindu. 17 January 2018. The BJP leader also called for support for India's "proactive role in the region", saying New Delhi would not be a "spectator" as China pushed its Belt and Road initiative forward. He called the project a "Neo-Marshall plan" in a veiled reference to the carving up of post-war Europe as akin to Chinese infrastructure projects in Asia and Africa.
  16. ^ Gyan Varma (27 February 2016). "BJP joins International Democratic Union". livemint.com. Live Mint. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Transcript: Ram Madhav on Hindu nationalism". Al Jazeera. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  18. ^ FP Staff (28 December 2015). "We'll worry about Kashmir, you worry about 'your' ISIS: BJP's Ram Madhav tells Al Jazeera journo". Firstpost. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  19. ^ Singh, Sarabjeet (2 January 2016). "Why I think Mehdi Hasan's interview with Ram Madhav was flirting with bias". DailyO. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  20. ^ Web Desk, Express (28 December 2015). "After Ram Madhav interview, talk show host writes: 'Hindu nationalist trolls' tried to paint me as ISIS supporter". The Indian Express. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Ram Madhav's appointment 'political pragmatism' for BJP before J&K polls, marks RSS's return to helm". ThePrint. 22 August 2024.

Further reading

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