Name: Ansad C
Email: ph17067@iisermohali.ac.in
Name of the supervisor: Dr. V. Rajesh
Research Focus: My study explores the complex web of relationships between the Hindu fishermen and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) organization in the coastal Malabar regions of Kerala. The study examines how the RSS, an organization that promotes the Hindu nationalist ideology, has been attempting to impart their ideology among the marginalized Hindus, especially among the Hindu fishermen in Northern Kerala. This study is motivated by a wish to fill a limitation in the existing literature on Hindu communalism, i.e. a dearth of enough studies on how Hindu communalism operates in the southern part of India. South India in general, and Kerala in particular is considered to be insulated from the influence of Hindutva politics. Hence, enough scholarly attention has not been brought to the organizational work that they do in this part of the country. The major questions I am posing in this study are (i) what are the kind of methods and strategies adopted by the RSS and its leaders to attract the fishermen? Moreover, how influential are their ideas in mobilizing them? (ii) How the Hindu nationalist ideology of RSS is manifested in the everyday interaction of the people, whether it is social, economic, or political (iv) What are the socio-economic conditions of the Hindu fishermen that help the RSS to impart their ideology?.
Website: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ansad-Hassan
Education: M.A. History, University of Hyderabad
B.A. History, University of Calicut
Fellowship/Scholarship: IISER Mohali Institute Fellowship
Title of the thesis: Hindu Nationalism in the Coastal Malabar Regions of Kerala: A Socio-Historical Study
Achievements: Qualified UGC-National Eligibility Test for Assistant Professor (NET) in History, June 2015.