Ram Madhav has spent most of his life with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of India's ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has been a key policy and outreach face of the RSS with expertise in foreign affairs (especially China), the Indian northeast, and Jammu and Kashmir. He has run successful election campaigns in both the northeastern states of India and Jammu and Kashmir for the BJP. He is also president of the India Foundation, a key conservative think-tank in India. Ram Madhav has written several books and this interview considers his latest monograph, The New World: 21st Century Global Order and India (https://www.amazon.in/New-World-21st-Century-Global-Order/dp/9370038264). In this conversation with Hindol Sengupta, who is an alumnus of India Foundation's Young Thinker Meet, Ram Madhav talks about the the future of nationalist politics and national conservatism in a world where, once again, after socialism and communism and classical liberalism, all of which conceptualised a border-free world, a new debate is being conducted, a new war fought, with wokeism. For everyone who believes in the idea of civilizations and the uniqueness of different cultures and the need to protect national heritage, the global woke movement is a key ideological adversary. Madhav argues that India has always, 'in a mature way', dealt with all the identity frictions and fissures that wokeism seeks to, often violently and disruptively, redress. He says that the Indian approach combines methodical focus on preserving indigenous culture while propagating universal values and systems. This, he says, makes it resilient at a time of order-shifting in geopolitics. This resilience he says is the ideological heritage evident in the foreign policy thinking of the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a lifelong member of the RSS. As the global order turns, perhaps from West to East, Madhav acknowledges that the road to becoming a $10 trillion economy - an oft-repeated aim of the Modi government - will be fraught with difficulties and roadblocks, not least from adversaries. But he says that India's commitment to technological advancement and societal development would enable it to traverse this path successfully. In this conversation, Madhav also talks about how the RSS sees India's role in the world. Chapters- 0:00-0:55 Opening 1:37-5:13 National conservatism in a changing world 5:59-9:59 India in a time of global transition 10:35-12:48 Wokeism or Communism: what’s more dangerous for India? 13:34-17:49 Keeping the western culture wars out of India and Asia 18:41-22:43 India in a changing world: how India can rise as a global power 23:36-26:36 Understanding foreign policy through the eyes of the RSS 27:19-29:52 America’s decline and the rise of a new world order 30:27-34:16 The tough road ahead for India’s economic rise 34:18-34:47 Closing #India #IndianEconomy #TrillionDollarEconomy #IndiaRising #EconomicGrowth #MakeInIndia #IndiaDevelopment #GlobalIndia

This discusses how OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) is being weaponised in narrative warfare, as seen in Operation Sindoor, where both India and Pakistan projected conflicting versions of events to claim victory, regardless of actual outcomes. Watch the full interview on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srFZlSSdJY8

This highlights growing concerns over cyber threats to India, including a confirmed hack into the Kalpakkam nuclear reactor’s administrative systems. Yet, it also points to India’s success in building resilient public digital infrastructure, showing both the risks and strengths in its cyber landscape. Watch the full interview on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srFZlSSdJY8

This clip explores the internal debate within India on whether to create a backup for UPI or push for its global adoption as a digital public good led by India, especially in response to how the West used financial systems during the Ukraine war. Watch the full interview on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srFZlSSdJY8

This reveals how Pakistan hired private OSINT satellite companies to monitor Indian military activity in real time, using open-source data to anticipate potential strikes. Watch the full interview on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srFZlSSdJY8

This highlights Xi Jinping’s visit to India despite pressure from Pakistan’s leadership, signaling a significant shift and hinting at new thinking in India-China relations. Watch the full interview on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxsVqiXIJPg