Synopsis: From its first shakha in Mangaluru in 1940, the RSS has come a long way in Karnataka. It drew strength from the Karnataka Land Reforms Act in 1974 and a ban during the Emergency. Later, wherever the RSS network has been strong, the BJP’s organisational presence followed. Incidentally, the BJP’s vote share went up in those constituencies that had witnessed communal flare-ups. However, the Congress has been failing to stymie the growth of both RSS and BJP. The Congress has lost the keenness to locate the minds that RSS has colonised.

Sanjeeva Kamath’s “going back” from Nagpur was not casual. The Gaud Saraswat Brahmin lawyer returned with a purpose.

Hailing from Kallya, a small village in the present-day Udupi district of Karnataka, Kamath travelled to Madras (now Chennai) to p

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