[Theobald]

India

- A history of Hindu nationalism

Hindu nationalism is a nationalist ideology that sees the modern state of the Republic of India as a Hindu nation ("Hindu Rashtra"), and seeks to preserve the Hindu heritage. Although the concept of "Hindu Rashtra" has been used in slogans and pamphlets of the Sangh Parivar, the main group that promotes this ideology, it has not been clearly and unambiguously defined in any of their literature. The notion of "Hinduness" (Hindutva) promoted by this group is intended to be inclusive of the multiple "indigenous" traditions of India, including Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Hindu nationalism has played a crucial role in the recent history of India and that of Hinduism.

Various Hindu reform movements, led by Dayananda Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda and others, originated as a reaction to what was perceived as offensive propaganda of Christian missionaries, a Westernization of many educated Hindus, forcible conversion to Islam and Christianity.

The Arya Samaj was founded by Dayananda Saraswati in the later 19th century to revive Hindu society, which was entrenched deeply in the social schisms of untouchability, suttee, as well as poverty, xenophobia and illiteracy. The Samaj prescribed a return to the Vedas; they were monotheistic in their approach to God. Another 19th century revivalist was Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda reestablished the ideals of the Hindu religion which were rooted in the ideals of acceptance, tolerance, respect, truth and renunciation. He was the first modern seer or philosopher to opine that religion and science need not be at loggerheads, they can be synthesized. Vivekananda at the Parliament of Religions proved the supremacy of the multidimensional Hindu religion, with its multiple paths to the divine unlike the parochial singular pathway abrahamic faiths. He was the supreme patriot sage of India, who was able to conceptualise the concept of a politically free India which included both Hindus and Muslims (Gandhi couldn't conceive the idea of a nation until 1929) Ramakrishna Mission he founded has grown into one of India's most important charities and community organizations.

Sri Aurobindo was a nationalist who was one of the first to embrace the idea of complete political independence for India, before giving up the struggle to adopt a life devoted to the mystical descent of the supermind consciousness. Both Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo are credited with having found the basis for a vision of freedom and glory for India in the spiritual richness and heritage of Hinduism. However, the universal and religious Hindu ideals of these individuals contrast heavily with the generally parochial viewpoint of some of the Hindu Nationalists. Swami Shraddhananda was another prominent individual who sought Hindu revival by converting Muslims in the Shuddhi movement; he was later shot by a Muslim fanatic. Madan Mohan Malviya, was a brahmin who founded the prestigious Benares Hindu University, the first modern university in India founded by an Indian.

The term Hindutva and the associated ideology were propounded by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a Marathi freedom fighter and one of the earliest Hindu nationalists. In his 1923 book Hindutva he defines a Hindu as:

“ He who considers India as both his Fatherland and Holyland ”

He thus defined Hindutva ("Hindu-ness") or Hindu nationalism as different from Hinduism in that it defines a Hindu nation, rather than a religion. The "Hindu nation" is conceived as including Indians belonging to religions like Sikhism and Buddhism (whose sacred sites associated with the founders lie in India), but whether Indian Muslims and Christians also are included, is a point of debate within the Hindu nationalists. For Savarkar at least, they cannot be Hindus as long as the origins and sacred sites of their religions lie in West Asia. Savarkar identified India as a Hindu Rāshtra ("Hindu nation") in terms of culture and heritage. It asserted that all of its people had in history adhered to Hindu religious values, and thus should be identified as Hindus not only as a religion but also as a nationality.


While the Indian Independence Movement, the Indian National Congress was recognized by a majority of Indians as their representative in the struggle for freedom from the British Raj, Hindu nationalist movements desired freedom not only from European colonialism, but also wanted to avoid a return Muslim rule.

National leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak instilled Hindu history, heritage and culture into Indian nationalism and politics during the Indian Independence Movement.

The Partition of India outraged many Hindus, as millions of Hindus and Sikhs were ethnically cleansed from their homes in West Pakistan and East Pakistan, and hundreds of thousands of Hindus and Sikhs were killed during the process of migration and on the streets of cities by murderous mobs. The lack of aid and protection from the Government of Pakistan created an atmosphere of insecurity for non-Muslims in Pakistan. This insecurity led to mass killings of non-Muslims in Pakistan, Hindus retaliated and the Partition riots began.

Savarkar and members of the Hindu Mahasabha were extremely critical of Gandhi's leadership. They accused him of appeasing the Muslims to preserve a unity that did not exist in their opinion (Savarkar endorsed the Two-nation theory). Some Hindu nationalists also blamed Gandhi for conceding Pakistan to the Muslim League via appeasement. And they were further inflamed when Gandhi conducted a fast-unto-death for the Indian government to give Rs. 55 crores which were due to the Pakistan government, but were being held back due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.

After the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India's freedom movement, the Sangh Parivar was plunged into distress by Jawaharlal Nehru, as the RSS was accused of organizing his murder. Along with the conspirators and his assassin, Nathuram Godse, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was also arrested. The Court acquitted Savarkar on lack of evidence, and the RSS was found be to completely unlinked with the conspirators. The Hindu Mahasabha, of which Savarkar had been president and Godse a member, lost membership and popularity. The effects of public outrage had a permanent effect on the Hindu Mahasabha, which is now a defunct Hindutva party.


- Hindutva

Hindutva ("Hinduness", a word coined by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in his 1923 pamphlet entitled Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? ) is used to describe movements advocating Hindu nationalism.

Grammatically, the term is a compound of the Persian word "Hindu" and the Sanskrit suffix "-tva" which is used to form neuter abstract nouns.[1] Hence, according to Savarkar, Hindutva is meant to denote the Hindu characteristic, or Hinduness.

The former ruling party in India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is closely associated with a group of organizations that promote Hindutva. They collectively refer to themselves as the "Sangh Parivar" or family of associations, and include the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

This right-wing ideology has existed since the early 20th century, forged by freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar popularly known as Veer Savarkar (Veer means brave), but came to prominence in Indian politics in the late 1980s, when two events attracted a large number of mainstream Hindus to the movement. The first of these events was the Rajiv Gandhi government's use of its large Parliamentary Majority to overturn a Supreme Court verdict that had angered many Muslims (see the Shah Bano case). The second was the dispute over the 16th century Mughal Babri Mosque in Ayodhya — built by Babur after his first major victory in India, allegedly by razing a Hindu temple marking the birthplace of the Hindu God-Emperor Rama, an avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism.

Hindutva is commonly identified with the guiding ideology of the Sangh Parivar, a family of Hindu Nationalist organizations, and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in particular. While opponents and critics usually view Hindutva as a nationalist identity based solely on the Hindu religion and ethos, these organizations portray it as a nationalist identity based on the traditions and cultural heritage of the Indian sub-continent, contending that in many respects it is a syncretic ideology, despite drawing freely from Hindu philosophy, quoting Hindu scriptures as a staple of party rhetoric, and holding Hindu historical and religious figures up as inspirational examples.

In general, Hindutvavaadis (followers of Hindutva) believe that they represent the well-being of Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism and all other Dharmic religions prominent in India, as those religions are native to India. Other prominent religions of India, Christianity, Judaism, Islam or Zoroastrianism, generally are not directly represented by Hindutva groups.


- Central concepts of Hindutva and Hindu nationalism

- The Indian subcontinent (which includes the area south of the Himalaya and the Hindu Kush or Akhand Bharat is the homeland of the Hindus.

- "Hindus" are those who consider India (Bharat) to be their fatherland (pitribhumi) as well as their holyland (punyabhumi) (definition as proposed by Savarkar). All prominent religions of India also consider their country of birth as motherland as well as sanctimonious land and are ready to sacrifice their life’s for the sake of their mother land (Based on their religious scripts).

- An Indian origin of Hinduism came from Central Asia along with the Aryan nomads around 3500 years ago. They often propose that the Indus Valley Civilization was Aryan, that Aryan culture traveled to India from Iran. Hindutva claims Vedic and pre-vedic languages evolved somewere in Northern India with their own invention theory called Indigenous Aryan Theory ,The concept is notable in Indian politics as part of Hindu nationalist propaganda.

- Emphasizing historical oppression of Hindus by invading forces like the Muslims (Muslim conquest of the Indian subcontinent) and the Christians (Goa Inquisition) and the call to "reverse" the influence resulting from these intrusions

- Denunciation of British colonialism and Communism alike for a perceived weakening of Hindus

- The irredentist call for the establishment of a "Hindu Rashtra" to protect Hindus and revive Hindu culture

- Denunciation of the Indian government as too passive with regard to the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Hindus by Kashmiri muslim separatists. Advocates of Hindutva wish a harder stance in Jammu and Kashmir.


- Hindu nationalist philosophy

Hindu nationalists have the stated aim of uniting the Hindu society which is plagued by casteism, regionalism, passive religion. They have a positive outlook towards the Dalit community, which they aim to bring to leadership positions in their organizations.They believe that the way Muslims and Hindus have treated each other in the past is a one-way compromise and they intend on making society more balanced and fair towards the majority Hindu population. The BJP has also invited Muslims to be a part of this new society and work with the Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs for a better India. Even more militant parties such as the Shiv Sena have invited Muslims to join and the party leader declared after the Babri Mosque incident :

"We must look after the Muslims and treat them as part of us."

Outside observers, on the other hand, describe Hindutva philosophy as fundamentalism: Muslims and Christians are seen as foreign elements in the subcontinent, which rightly belongs to Hindus. The RSS leader M. S. Golwalkar, like his contemporary Islamist counterpart Mawdudi, has expressed admiration for the Nazis and their ideas about national purity: in 1939 he wrote that "Germany has shocked the world by purging the country of the semitic race of the Jews, a good lesson for us in Hindusthan to learn and profit by". Ruthven recognizes an element of religious fundamentalism in Swami Dayananda's "elevation of the Vedas to the sum of human knowledge, along with his myth of the Aryavartic kings", but identifies its consequences as nationalistic, since "Hindutva secularizes Hinduism by sacralizing the nation".