The Rajasthan government has recommended the inclusion of RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar’s biography in all college libraries in the state.

In a circular issued Thursday, the college education department recommended all government colleges to purchase the book, Aadhunik Bharat ke Nirmata Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, written by academic Rakesh Sinha.

Sinha is the Honorary Director of the India Policy Foundation – a think tank perceived to be affiliated to the RSS.

The book’s English translation was recently released by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s publication division as part of its ‘Builders of Modern India’ series.

The Rajasthan government circular mentions Sinha as the managing editor of Soochna Bhawan, which houses several divisions of the I&B Ministry.

While the state’s Higher Education Minister Kalicharan Saraf could not be reached for comment, officials at the Directorate of Higher Education, Rajasthan government, said the circular only “recommended” the purchase of the books.

“We had received a communication from Soochna Bhawan in New Delhi. If college principals think the book is useful, then they would purchase it. It is not obligatory,” R S Vijayvargiya, Joint Director (Academics), said.

The Hindi version of the book had divided the RSS, with the late Sangh ideologue K R Malkani criticising it for being too long and leaving out major life events of Doctorji, as Hedgewar was popularly known.

In March 2012, when the UPA government was in power, Sinha had accused the publications division of “suppressing the book”.

“Publication division (govt of India) practices ideological apartheid (and) suppresses its own publication on Dr Hedgewar because he was RSS founder,” he had tweeted.

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