Golwalkar

M. S. Golwalkar
Native name	एम एस गोळवलकर
Born	19 February 1906 Ramtek, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died	5 June 1973(1973-06-05) (aged 67) Nagpur, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Former chief of RSS

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 wrote Bunch of Thoughts and We, or Our Nationhood Defined.

Golwalkar was born on 19 February 1906 to a Marathi family: Sadashivrao and Lakshmibai at Ramtek, near Nagpur in Maharashtra. His family was prosperous and close-knit. Sadashivrao, a former clerk in the Posts and Telegraphs Department, became a teacher in the Central Provinces and ended his career as headmaster of a high school. Golwalkar was the only surviving son of nine children. Since his father was frequently transferred around the country, he attended a number of schools. Golwalkar studied science and was a good, apolitical student. As an adolescent, he developed a deep interest in religion and spiritual meditation.

In 1922, Golwalkar enrolled in the missionary-run Hislop College in Nagpur. At the college, he was reportedly incensed at the "open advocacy" of Christianity and the disparagement of Hinduism; much of his concern for the defence of Hinduism is traceable to this experience. In 1924 Golwalkar left Hislop College for Benaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in 1925 and a master's degree in biology in 1927. He was influenced by Madan Mohan Malaviya, a nationalist leader and founder of the university. Golwalkar went to Madras to pursue a doctorate in marine biology, but could not complete it because of his father's retirement; he later taught zoology for three years at BHU. His students called him "Guruji" because of his beard, long hair and simple robe, a practice later continued in a reverential manner by his RSS followers. Golwalkar returned to Nagpur, and obtained a law degree by 1935.

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