Ram Madhav

Ram Madhav Varanasi
Born	(1964-08-22) 22 August 1964 East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	National General Secretary-BJP & Director-India Foundation http://rammadhav.in/
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party

Ram Madhav Varanasi is National General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party and Director, India Foundation- An independent think-tank focussed on the issues, challenges and opportunities of the Indian polity. He is the former member of the National Executive, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and has been the senior functionary, media interface, interlocutor for the intelligentsia for the RSS. Ram Madhav Varanasi has been an active journalist and writer for over 20 years. He has authored several books with the latest being “Uneasy Neighbours: India and China after Fifty Years of the War”. Ram Madhav Varanasi has vast experience of issues pertaining to strategic and international relations which he has gained over his travels across the globe and facilitation of think tanks.

Personal life

Born in a Brahmin family in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on August 22, 1964, Ram Madhav Varanasi is one of the top intellectuals associated with the RSS. Primarily a student of engineering, he did his Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Andhra Pradesh, India. Ram Madhav also has a post-graduate degree in Political Science from the University of Mysore, Karnataka. He was the official spokesperson of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (R.S.S.), the largest voluntary organization of the world. Apart from serving on editorial boards of several noted regional and national journals he has authored more than twelve books and contributes regularly to several Indian dailies and weeklies as a columnist.He ran an organization named "PRAGNA BHARATHI" in Hyderabad. He also served as director in several film censor boards and educational institutes of India. He worked as a journalist for over 20 years with RSS sponsored publications and authored 10 books, including biographies.

Association with RSS

Ram Madhav's association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) goes back to his childhood days. He formally volunteered to be full-time worker for RSS in 1981. Since then Mr. Madhav has been assigned to several key positions in the organization. He had served as the national spokesperson of the RSS from 2003-2014.

Association with the BJP

Ram Madhav was deputed to BJP and appointed as one of its national general secretaries in 2014.

In the Media

1. Director, Bharat Prakashan, Delhi – publishers of Organiser (English weekly) and Panchajanya (Hindi weekly) – from 2003 to 2012
2. Associate Editor, “Jagriti” Telugu weekly (1990-2000).
3. Editor, “Vande Mataram”, fortnightly English bulletin run by the RSS in AP (1995-2001).
4. Editor, “Bharatiya Pragna”, a monthly magazine in English published by Pragna Bharati, AP (1994-2001).
5. Publishes regularly in various magazines, journals and on the web on domestic and international issues
6. Authored 10 books in Telugu, including biographies of Sri Shyama Prasad Mukharjee, Guru Teg Bahadur and historical themes like the Partition of India and the Maratha Naval hero Kanhoji Angrey.

Lectures and Conferences

1. Lectured at various prestigious universities like the Yale University, New Haven, CT; the John’s Hopkins University, Washington DC; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth while traveling in the US
2. Addressed and interacted with various Think Tanks like the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, PEW Forum and the American Foreign Policy Council etc
3. Represented the RSS in meetings with the officials of the US State Department several times
4. Held meetings with senior leaders in the Sri Lankan Government to discuss Indo- Sri Lanka relations and Regional Security during a tour of Sri Lanka in June 2009. Involved in various socio-cultural initiatives between India and Sri Lanka.
5. Visited Tibet on the invitation of the Chinese Association for International Friendship and Cooperation and held discussions with officials of the Tibet Autonomous Region in November 2008.
6. Visited Beijing and Shanghai in 2008 and addressed Beijing University and several Think Tanks.
7. On the invitation of The Communist Party of China (CPC) held meetings with senior leaders of the CPC and the Government of China as a member of the 5-member Delegation in January 2009
8. Led a 3-member delegation of the RSS to Beijing, Shanghai and Luoyang in 2011 at the invitation of the IDCPC and held discussions with the officials.
9. In Russia held meetings with the senior officials of the strategic affairs Think Tank under the Foreign Ministry in 2008 and 2010.
10. In Russia addressed Moscow State University and Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences amongst others
11. In Russia held meetings with the representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church on Hindu-Russian Orthodox relations
12. In Russia Interacted with various Think Tanks under Russian Academy of Sciences amongst various others.
13. Held talks with the officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Parliament while visiting the UK
14. Held meetings with the Representatives of the Archbishop of Canterbury, London on Hindu-Christian relations
15. Addressed and interacted with various Indian and non-Indian groups including prestigious Think Tanks like the Chatham House and IISS, London.
16. Addressed International Conference on ‘Human Rights and Religion’ organized by the World Council of Churches at Geneva in May 2008 as a Hindu representative.
17. Addressed the Global Convention of the World Council of Churches at Jamaica, West Indies in May 2011.
18. On the invitation of the State Library of Coahulia, Mexico inaugurated a 4-day Seminar on “Globalisation and Cultures of Resistance” in 2007 and again visited Mexico in 2008
19. On the invitation of the Government of Taiwan interacted with various officials and Think Tanks in 2007.
20. In Israel attended the international conference on counter-terrorism in September 2008.
21. Held meetings with officials of the Foreign Ministry of Israel, Jerusalem.
22. Represented RSS in meetings with the Chief Rabbi in India in 2008 as well as in Jerusalem in 2009
23. Interacted with the officials of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue in the Vatican City, Italy in September 2007
24. Visited Mongolia in 2009 and held meetings with the officials and religious leaders.
25. Invited to the World Religious & Social Leaders Summit organized by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Muslim Council of Azerbaijan in 2010 at Baku in Azerbaijan.
26. Spoke at the International Conference on Contemporary Philosophy of Religion at the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran in December 2012
27. Spoke at the International Conference on Nation, Nationhood & Nationality at Tirana, Albania in May 2013.
28. Organised and participated in the delegation visits of senior leaders to various countries on behalf of the India Foundation

Public and Academic Offices

1. Presently National General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
2. Presently Director, India Foundation, New Delhi – a Strategic Studies Think-Tank and NGO in Delhi
3. Presently involved in setting up a major University for Buddhist-Indic Studies in India
4. Served as a Member of the Executive Council of Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi during 1999-2002.
5. Served as a Member of the AP Film Censor Board during 1998-2002.
6. Served as a Director on the Board of Aurora group of educational institutions at Hyderabad, India that runs several engineering and other professional colleges during 1996 – 2002.
7. Organising Secretary of a movement of thinkers and intellectuals – Pragna Bharati – in Andhra Pradesh during 1990 – 2002. Member of its Kendriya Prakoshta (Central Core Group).