Hindu Mahasabha

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Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (lit. 'All-India Hindu Grand Assembly'), simply known as the Hindu Mahasabha, is a far-right Hindutva political party in India. Founded in 1915 by Madan Mohan Malviya, the Mahasabha functioned mainly as a pressure group advocating the interests of orthodox Hindus before the British Raj from within the Indian National Congress. In the 1930s, it emerged as a distinct party under the leadership of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who developed the ideology of Hindutva and became a fierce opponent of the secular nationalism espoused by the Congress. During World War II, the Mahasabha supported the British war effort and briefly entered coalitions with the Muslim League in provincial and central legislative councils. They opposed the integration of the princely states into India. The assassination of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi was perpetrated by the Hindu Mahasabha member Nathuram Godse. The Mahasabha's fortunes diminished in post-Independence Indian politics, and...

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