10 Years On: The Book That Sparked Conversations Around Hindutva

Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India

Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India by Akshaya Mukul is a groundbreaking, deeply researched account of the publishing house that shaped modern Hindu political consciousness. Founded over a century ago, Gita Press built an empire that championed militant Hindu nationalism and a transactional piety, drawing endorsements from leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi. Its publications were central to forging a Hindu public sphere and offer vital insights into the contested rise of the Hindu Right.

This tenth anniversary edition of the award-winning book contains a new prologue by the author that brings the book up to date with the present situation.

From the Prologue to the Tenth Anniversary Edition

This book received encomiums and a few brickbats too. Of all the reviews, the most memorable is the one by the now-defunct Niti Central, a right-wing blogging site, that spent considerable space reviewing not so much the main text but the acknowledgements section to argue that the book was a part of a grand left-liberal conspiracy to defame the Gita Press. The decade post the book’s release also saw Gita Press in the news, a lot more than it had been previously, the news about its closure or of it being awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize being the highlights. …

But do the Hindutva cheerleaders read Gita Press journals, monographs and translations? I can say emphatically, no …

When the book was published, many BJP leaders, including cabinet ministers, bought and displayed it prominently in their bookshelves. The title of the book might have seduced them to show it off.

This is the Hindu India the Gita Press worked assiduously for over a century and wanted the country to become. Its foundation was built brick by brick and its weft and warp weaved patiently.

Author Akshaya Mukul says, ‘In the last ten years since this book was published, India has unravelled in the way many feared it might under the complete political hegemony of the Hindu Right. The decade saw Gita Press turn 100, a rare success for a small-town press built with Marwari capital propagating religious–cultural populism, an obscurantist version of the Hindu religion and majoritarian politics. This book, in its small way, helped understand how the Gita Press played a foundational role in the making of Hindu nationalism and continues to. As the nation moves into the second decade of complete Hindu right-wing takeover, I hope the book reaches new readers. I wish to thank HarperCollins for making the book a success.’

Udayan Mitra, Executive Publisher HarperCollins India says, ‘It's been ten years since the publication of Akshaya Mukul’s defining and award-winning book, Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India. Over the past decade, the book has found many interested readers and generated countless conversations. We at HarperCollins are very pleased to publish a tenth anniversary edition, featuring a new prologue by the author. We hope very much that this exceptional work will continue to be read in the years to come, and will continue to inspire debates and dialogues.’

About the Author

Akshaya Mukul is a journalist and author of Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India (2015) and Writer, Rebel, Soldier, Lover: The Many Lives of Agyeya (2022). Gita Press has won several awards including the Tata Literature Live!, Ramnath Goenka Award, Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize, Crossword Award, and the Atta Galatta Prize. Agyeya received the prestigious Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize. Mukul is also the recipient of fellowships from the New India Foundation, Homi Bhabha, and Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund.

Press Contact: Naiyya Singh – Assistant General Manager naiyya.singh@harpercollins.co.in