Non-European nationalisms

[Theobald]

This thread is dedicated to non-European nationalisms. Feel free to comment, or add more informations.

- Turkey : Kemalism, Young Turks and Grey Wolves
- Israel : Zionism
- Arabic countries : Baath & pan-Arabism
- India : Hindutva
- Iran
- China
- Japan

[Theobald]

Turkey

- Kemalism

Kemalist Ideology ("Atatürkçü Düşünce"), also known as Kemalism ("Kemalizm" or "Atatürkçülük") and Six Arrows, is based on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's six principles (Altı Ok) during the Turkish national movement. The principles were not defined as an ideology during the life of Atatürk, but formulated later on. It constitutes ground rules for state nationalism in Turkey.

There are six fundamentals of the ideology. Secularism and reformism principles were accepted and entered into the constitution following the first four, and came to be recognized as unchangeable and sacrosanct shortly thereafter.

Republicanism

Republicanism (Cumhuriyetçilik) is recognized as a republican regime for Turkey, was a change from the multi-national millet and later Ottomanism to the establishment of the nation state of Turkey and the realization of the national identity of modern Turkey. Kemalism believes that only the republican regime can best represent the wishes of the people. This form of republican regime is summarized under the politics of Turkey.

Secularism

Secularism meant separation of state and religion. Kemalist secularism is Laïcité (Laiklik), the absence of religious interference in government affairs, and vice-versa; solidified in public educational, government subsidized cultural and legal affairs. Kemalist Secularism does not extend to Agnosticism or Nihilism; it meant independence of thought and independence of institutions from the dominance of religious thinking and religious institutions. The Kemalist principle of secularism did not advocate atheism. It was not an anti-God principle. It was a rationalist, anti-clerical secularism. Many Kemalist reforms were made to bring about secularism, and others were realized because secularism had been achieved. Thus, the Kemalist revolution was also a secularist revolution.

The Kemalist principle of secularism was not against an enlightened Islam, but against an Islam which was opposed to modernization and democracy, the Islamists in Turkey are opposing this principle of Kemalism because its aim was the secularisation of the Islamic society.

Political power : The political power is perceived as the only source of sovereignty and is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e.g. legislative, judicial, and/or executive) authority over a geographic region (Turkey), group of people (Turkish People), or oneself. The reach that position, the Caliphate was abolished on March 3rd, 1924. As a result of two pieces of legislation dating from 1931 and 1937 respectively the article stating that "the established religion of Turkey is Islam" was removed from the constitution and the principles of secularism and revolutionism added to the constitution in their stead. No Turkish politician can claim to be a protector of any religion or religious sect, which constitutes sufficient legal grounds for the permanent banning of political parties.

Active neutrality : According to Turkish perception of the Laïcité, the Turkish state is to stand at an equal distance from every religion, neither promoting nor condemning any set of religious beliefs. Republic of Turkey is neutral in religious affairs. Kemalism has an "active neutrality"; which actions related with Religion should be carefully analyzed/evaluated by the government through of the Ministry for Religious Affairs. Ministry for Religious Affairs is responsible for the religious management. Ministry for Religious Affairs has to give effort (plan/coordinate/implement) balance this responsibility.

Kemalism has to balance the space between different sects. A course in Islamic doctrine is compulsory in all elementary and high schools except those responsible for minority communities, which have their own religious courses (regulated and administered by the Ministry of Education). The balance in this Islamic doctrine is debated.

Populism

Populism (Halkçılık), is defined as a social revolution in term of its content and goals. This was revolution led by an elite with an orientation towards the people in general. The Kemalist reforms brought about a revolutionary change in the status of women through the adoption of Western codes of law in Turkey, in particular the Swiss Civil Code. Women received the right to vote in 1934. Atatürk stated on a number of occasions that the true rulers of Turkey were the peasants. This was actually a goal rather than a reality in Turkey. In fact, in the official explanation given to the principle of populism it was stated that Kemalism was against class privileges and class distinctions and it recognized no individual, no family, no class and no organization as being above others.

Kemalist ideology was, in fact, based on supreme value of Turkish citizenship. A sense of pride associated with this citizenship would give the needed psychological spur to the people to make them work harder and to achieve a sense of unity and national identity.

Revolutionalism

Reformism (Devrimcilik), a principle that Atatürk formulated was the principle of revolutionism. This principle meant that the country replaced traditional institutions with modern institutions. It meant that traditional concepts were eliminated and modern concepts were adopted. The principle of revolutionism went beyond the recognition of the reforms which were made. A considerable degree of controversy still exists with respect to the "proper name" of this principle. While most of the Turkish left refers to it as Revolutionism, the center and right prefer to characterize it as Reformism - due, in some part, to the fact that all references to "revolution" were banned after the military coup in 1980. Atatürk's revolutions in social and political life are irreversible, with no possibility of return to the old systems (this is especially true for the secular reforms that were introduced following the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate, religious dress and the old Arabic script). Atatürk never entertained the possibility of a pause or transition phase during the course of the progressive unfolding or implementation of the Revolution.

Nationalism

Nationalism (Milliyetçilik); The Kemalist revolution was also a nationalist revolution. Its aim was to create a nation state from a former empire. Kemalist criteria for national identity refers to a shared language, and/or shared values (defined as a common history and will to share a future). Kemalist nationalism was not racist, membership is usually gained through birth within the borders of the state. Every citizen within the borders of Turkey is to be recognized as a Turk, regardless of such factors as ethnicity, religion, gender, race, sect, sexual preference or philosophical belief. Ideally (in theory), this nationalism denounces any links with fascism, and Atatürk's nationalism, regarding expensionism, opposes imperialism, aims to promote peace in both the domestic and international arenas. In practice this interpreted as a goal to create a uniform type of citizen, usually with disregard/disdain for cultural/ethnic/religious minorities

During the formulation dissolution of Ottoman Empire and its nation concept, "Millet (Ottoman Empire)", played an important perspective. By moving the state to a neutral position Kemalism aimed to preserve the independence of the Republic of Turkey and form a stable structure for political development. It was aimed to develop just the opposite of Ottoman practice. It was a nationalism with a social content. It was also against the rule of a dynasty or of any particular social class over society. Kemalist nationalism believes in the principle that the Turkish state is an indivisible whole comprising its territory and people, named as "unity of the state". It was a nationalism which respected the right to independence of all other nations. However ethnic minorities within Turkey (Kurds for example) and peoples of neighbouring countries (Particularly Armenians and Greeks) dispute this.

Statism

Statism (Devletçilik), Kemal Atatürk made clear in his statements and policies that Turkey's complete modernization was very much dependent on economic and technological development. The principle of Kemalist Statism was interpreted to mean that the state was to regulate the country's general economic activity and the state was to engage in areas where private enterprise was not willing to do so, or where private enterprise had proved to be inadequate, or if national interest required it. In the application of the principle of statism, however, the state emerged not only as the principle source of economic activity but also as the owner of the major industries of the country.

The power of the state is to intervene in all economic matters where the public interest and social welfare is of greater importance than individual or corporate profit-making. In addition, where the private sector is not powerful enough to increase employment and create new spheres of employment, the state is to make use of its initiative to conduct businesses, establish factories, banks, and so forth. This statism is not a derivative of communism, but bears a certain resemblance to state capitalism.

- Grey Wolves

Grey Wolves (Bozkurtlar in Turkish) is the youth organization of the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party ("Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi", MHP), an ultra-nationalist movement founded by Alparslan Türkeş in 1969. They are named after a legendary wolf that led captive Turks to freedom. Their formal name in Turkish is ülkücüler (the Idealists) and Ülkücü Hareket (The Idealist Movement), inspired from Italian fascist Giovanni Gentile's "Actual Idealism" theory as a pseudo-philosophical reference. Ülkü Ocakları (Forges of Ideal), the proper platform of Grey Wolves, denies any "direct" links with MHP and presents itself as an independent youth organisation. Their female supporters are called Asena and Grey Wolves of Kurdish stock are designated sarcastically as Bozkürtler, literally "Grey Kurds," punning on the Turkish name of the movement. When loudly acclaimed while visiting an İstanbul synagogue in 1992, Alparslan Türkeş referred to the gatherers, with some humor, as the "Grey Wolves of Moses".

History

The Grey Wolves were founded as the youth organization of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) created by Alparslan Türkeş in 1969.A significant pillar of the MHP's ideology is the dream of creating the Turan, the "Great Turkish Empire", including all Turkish (sometimes referred as Turkic) peoples mainly in the successor Central-Asian countries of the former Soviet Union as well as China (the Uyghurs of East Turkestan).The concept of Turan is similar to racist and expansionist concepts of an Aryan empire proposed by the Nazi regime. Alparslan Türkeş, the founder of the Grey Wolves is known to be an admirer of Adolf Hitler.

At the time of the military coup of September 12, 1980, led by general Kenan Evren (who was also the leader of Counter-Guerrilla)there were some 1,700 Grey Wolves organizations, with about 200,000 registered members and a million sympathisers. However, after being useful for Kenan Evren's strategy of tension, the leader of the Counter-Guerrilla turned president outlawed the MHP and the Grey Wolves. Colonel Türkeş and other Grey Wolves were arrested. In its indictment of the MHP in May 1981, the Turkish military government charged 220 members of the MHP and its affiliates for 694 murders, according to Edward Herman and Frank Brodhead in The Rise and Fall of the Bulgarian Connection. However, Grey Wolves emprisonned members were offered release if they accepted to fight the Kurdish minority and the PKK, as well as the ASALA ("Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia"), which carried out 110 attacks in 38 cities of 21 countries. 39 of these were armed attacks, 70 of them bomb attacks and one was an occupation. 42 Turkish diplomats and 4 foreign nationals were assassinated in these attacks, while 15 Turks and 66 foreign nationals were wounded.

The Grey Wolves then lost many of its core cadres to the neo-liberal Motherland Party or various vestiges of the Islamist movement. In 1983, the Nationalist Task Party ("Milliyetçi Çalışma Partisi", MÇP) was founded as a successor to the MHP; as of 1992 it is again known as the MHP.

The MHP is strongly opposed to Kurdish separatists, namely the militant PKK group, although they nevertheless do have some Kurdish supporters. The paramilitary wing of the Grey Wolves have been utilized by the Turkish intelligence services to assassinate Kurdish leaders. With Counter-Guerrilla, the Grey Wolves went to fight Kurds, and have been accused of killing and torturing thousands in the 1980s, and also carrying false flag attacks in which the Counter-Guerrilla attacked villages, dressed up as PKK fighters, and raped and executed people randomly (Ganser, 2005). The fact that Counter-Guerrilla had engaged in torture was confirmed by Talat Turhan, a former Turkish colonel.In addition, they carried out operations to assassinate the leader squad of ASALA, in which they have succeeded.

Slogans

Tanrı Türk'ü Korusun ve Yüceltsin! (God save and sublime the Turk!)

Şehitler Ölmez, Vatan Bölünmez! (Martyrs don't die, Undividable Fatherland!)

Ülkücü Hareket Engellenemez! (The idealist movement can't be hampered!)

Alparslan Türkeş'in askerleriyiz! (We are the soldiers of Alparslan Türkeş!)

Dökülen kan, alınan can bizim / Yıkılsın liberal kapitalizm! (The blood spilled and the lives taken are ours / May liberal capitalism collapse!)

Elimizde Kur'an, Hedef Turan! (Qur'an in our hands, our aim is Turan!)

Çakal çakaldır, bozkurt olamaz ki! (Jackal is a jackal, and can never be a greywolf.)

Her Türk asker doğar! (Every Turk is born as a soldier.)

Ulutürk! (The noble Turk!)

Kurtköy Ovası, ülkücüler yuvası! (Plain of Wolfsville, land of the greywolves!)


- Links

Understanding Kemalism

Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (CHP) (Republican People\'s Party)

Türkiye Gençlik Birliği (TGB) (Turkey Youth Union)

[Cirrus]

- Lebanon : Kataeb Party (Phalange), Lebanese Forces...

+ YouTube Video

+ YouTube Video

Kataeb Party - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lebanese Forces - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Les Racines Du Nationalisme Libanais

- Syria : Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP)

Syrian Social Nationalist Party - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Theobald]

Arab world

- A History of Arab nationalism & Pan-Arabism

Arab nationalism is a common nationalist ideology in the 20th century. It is based on the premise that nations from Morocco to the Arabian peninsula would be united under a common linguistic,cultural and historical heritage. Pan-Arabism is a related concept, which calls for the creation of a single Arab state, but not all Arab nationalists are also Pan-Arabists. Arab independence refers to the concept of the removal or minimization of direct Western influence in the Middle East, and the dissolution of regimes in the Arab world which are considered to be dependent upon favorability with the West to the detriment of their local populations.

The rise of Arab nationalism

The political orientation of Arab nationalists in the years prior to the First World War was generally moderate. Their demands were of a reformist nature, limited in general to autonomy within the Ottoman Empire, greater use of Arabic in education, and local service in peacetime for Arab conscripts to the imperial army. Some radicalisation followed the 1908 revolution in the empire and the Turkicisation programme imposed by the new Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, often known as the Young Turks) government. However, Arab nationalism was not yet a mass movement, even in Syria where it was strongest - one of the key elements of early Arab Nationalism was the desire for a 'Greater Syria' that incorporated Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. Many Arabs gave their primary loyalty to their religion or sect, their tribe, or their own particular governments. The ideologies of Ottomanism and Pan-Islamism were strong competitors of Arab nationalism.

In 1913, Arab intellectuals and some politicians met in Paris at the first Arab Congress. They produced a set of demands for greater autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. They also requested that Arab conscripts to the Ottoman army not be required to serve in other regions except in time of war.

Nationalist sentiments became more prominent during the collapse of Ottoman authority. The brutal repression of the secret societies in Damascus and Beirut by Jamal Pasha, who executed patriotic intellectuals in 1915 and 1916, strengthened anti-Turkish feeling, while the British, for their part, incited the Sharif of Mecca to launch the Arab Revolt during the First World War. The Ottomans were defeated and the rebel forces, loyal to the Sharif's son Faisal ibn Abd Allah entered Damascus in 1918. Arab unity then saw its first failed attempt with the establishment of the short-lived Kingdom of Syria under Faisal.

During the war the British had been a major sponsor of Arab nationalist thought and ideology, as a weapon to use against the power of the Ottoman Empire. However, the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France provided for the division of the eastern Arab lands between the two imperial powers. During the interwar years and the British Mandate period, when Arab lands were under French and British colonial control, Arab nationalism became an important anti-colonial opposition movement against British rule.

Important Arab nationalist thinkers in the inter-war period included Amin al-Rihani, Constantin Zureiq, Zaki al-Arsuzi, Michel Aflaq and Sati' al-Husri. Competing ideologies included Islamism and local nationalism, notably the Lebanese nationalism promoted by various, predominantly Christian, thinkers and politicians in that country, and the Greater Syrian nationalism developed most notably by Antoun Saade, which gained a certain adherence in Syria and Lebanon. Communism also became a significant ideological force, first and most notably in Iraq, but later also in Syria and to a certain extent in Egypt. However, while generally hostile for pragmatic reasons to specific pan-Arab political projects, Arab communism was not altogether incompatible with the general demands of nationalism.

Gamal Abdul Nasser, the leader of Egypt, was a significant player in the rise of Arab Nationalism. Opposed to the British control of the Suez Canal Zone and concerned at Egypt becoming a Cold War battleground Nasser pushed for a collective Arab security pact within the framework of the Arab League. A key aspect of this was the need for economic aid that was not dependent on peace with Israel and the establishment of US or British military bases within Arab countries.

Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal and directly challenged the dominance of the Western powers in the region. At the same time he opened Egypt up as a Cold War zone by receiving aid and arms shipments from the USSR that were not dependent on treaties, bases and peace accords. However, because of the connotations for Cold War dominance of the region, Egypt also received aid from the US, who sought to promote the emerging Arab Nationalism as a barrier to communism.

Egypt and Syria

During the twentieth century,the rivalry between Syria and Egypt for preeminence undermined the process of uniting the Arab world. In 1958 the states of Egypt and Syria temporarily joined to create a new nation, the United Arab Republic. It was accompanied by attempts to include North Yemen in the union. This very exercise, while fostering Egypt's position at the centre of Arab politics, led to the weakening of Syria. With the Iraqi revolution taking place in the same year, Western powers feared the fallouts of a powerful Arab Nationalism in the region. Foreign powers were not only concerned about the possible spread of such revolutionary movements in other Arab states, but also worried about losing the control and monopoly over the region's natural oil resources.

However, due to discontent over the hegemony of Egypt and after a coup in Syria that introduced a more radical government to power, the UAR (United Arab Republic) collapsed in 1961; leaving room for Egyptian hegemony,under the leadership of President Gamal Abdal Nasser. The term United Arab Republic continued to be used in Egypt until 1971, after the death of Nasser.

Baathism

Arab nationalists generally rejected religion as a main element in political identity, and promoted the unity of Arabs regardless of sectarian identity. However, the fact that most Arabs were Muslims was used by some as an important building block in creating a new Arab national identity.

An example of this was Michel Aflaq, founder along with Salah al-Din al-Bitar and Zaki al-Arsuzi of the Ba'th Party. Aflaq, though himself a Christian, viewed Islam as a testament to the "Arab genius", and once said "Muhammed was the epitome of all the Arabs. So let all the Arabs today be Muhammed." Since the Arabs had reached their greatest glories through the expansion of Islam, Islam was seen as a universal message as well as an expression of secular genius on the part of the Arab peoples. Islam had given the Arabs a "glorious past", which was very different from the "shameful present". In effect the troubles of the Arab present were because the Arabs had diverged from their "eternal and perfect symbol", Islam. The Arabs needed to have a "renaissance": the meaning of the word ba'th.

Throughout the Middle East, regional nationalisms and allegiances to the post-World War I states such as Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq partly compete and partly coexist with broader Arab nationalism. In Lebanon, for instance, the identity of "Arab" is rejected by some Lebanese nationalist groups (especially Maronite), while being enthusiastically embraced by others.


- Nasserism

Nasserism is an Arab nationalist political ideology based on the thinking of the former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was a major influence on pan-Arab politics in the 1950s and 1960s, but slowly died away. It also metamorphosed into other nationalist movements during the 1970s. Nasser himself died in 1970. During his lifetime Nasserist groups were encouraged and often supported economically by like-minded factions in Egypt, and many were in effect reduced, sometimes willingly so, to what were seen as pro-regime puppets.

Nasserism is a revolutionary Arab nationalist and pan Arab ideology, combined with a vaguely defined socialism; often distinguished from Eastern bloc or Western socialist thought by the label "Arab Socialism". It is a secular ideology, which led to conflict with the emerging Muslim radicalism, and argued for modernization, industrialization and the abolishment of traditional society. It was vehemently opposed to colonialism, and argued extensively against Zionism in this context, perceiving Israel as a modern-day Western colony on Arab soil. In world politics, Nasser's Egypt played a major part in the Non-Aligned Movement.

Nasserism still exists as a political force in some Arab countries, but it is generally confined to minor opposition parties, writers and intellectuals. While Nasser ruled Egypt through a totalitarian one-party system, present-day Nasserists say they generally embrace democracy, and tend to stress the modernizing and secular strands of the ideology. However, some Nasserist activists complain of persisting autocratic practices within their own ranks. In addition, Nasserist parties receive little popular support in Egypt because, according to one of their leaders, the ideologies on which Nasserist parties are based no longer appeal to the Egyptian people.

- Baath Party and Baathism

The Arab Socialist Baath Party was founded in 1947 as a radical, secular Arab nationalist political party. It functioned as a pan-Arab party with branches in different Arab countries (Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan), but was strongest in Syria and Iraq, coming to power in both countries in 1963

The Arabic word Ba'th means "resurrection" or "renaissance" as in the party's founder Michel Aflaq's published works "On The Way Of Resurrection". Baathist beliefs combine Arab Socialism, nationalism, and Pan-Arabism. The motto of the Party is "Unity, Freedom, Socialism". "Unity" refers to Arab unity, "freedom" emphasizes freedom from foreign control and interference in particular, and "socialism" refers to what has been termed Arab Socialism rather than to Marxism.

The Baath Party was from the beginning a secular Arab nationalist party. Socialism (not Marxism) was quickly adopted as the party’s economic dogma: “Unity [Arab], Freedom [from colonialism], and Socialism” are still the watchwords. From its earliest development, the motivation behind Baathist political thought and its leading supporters was the need to produce a means of reasserting the Arab spirit in the face of foreign domination. Moral and cultural deterioration, it was felt, had so weakened the Arabs that Western supremacy spread throughout the Middle East. Arabs needed a regeneration of the common heritage of people in the region to drive off debilitating external influences.

These days, it's common to say that Arab nationalism was a secular movement that has been displaced by Islamic fundamentalism. But as the Iraqi exile Kanan Makiya points out in his brilliant and indispensable portrait of Saddam's Iraq, "Republic of Fear," Arab nationalism as Aflaq conceived it is not a secular concept. The Arab Nation for him is a transcendent spiritual force, a bit like Hegel's concept of the Spirit of History. The Arab Nation is the ideal around which human history ascends. The Arab Nation is the culmination of all values. Arabs attain spiritual perfection when they achieve solidarity with the Arab Nation and purge themselves of the cancerous influences of the West. "Nationalism is not an idea," Aflaq wrote. For Arabs to become nationalists, "they need to forget what they have learned so that they can return to a direct relationship with their pure original nature."

Though born a Christian, Aflaq believed that Islam provides Arabs with "the most brilliant picture of their language and literature, and the grandest part of their national history." He did not see the confrontation with the West in Muslim versus Christian terms. Arguing that all three great religions originated in the Middle East, he asserted that "religion entered Europe from the outside, therefore it is alien to its character and history." Europeans and Americans, he believed, cannot really be Christian or religious or highly spiritual in the rich way that Arabs can.

Aflaq's writings were vague and pathetic whenever he tried to address concrete situations, but he did apparently have a gift for painting glorious pictures of future triumph, which appealed to those with a nagging sense of national humiliation. Like a lot of intellectuals of the middle of the twentieth century, Aflaq also spent time theorizing about the revolutionary process. The Baath saw themselves as strugglers, as people engaged in a permanent revolution aimed at uniting them with the inner perfection that is Arabism. The Baath party, Aflaq felt, embodying the transcendent Arab spirit, needed to be ruthless against those who did not share its beliefs. Moreover, it was through this combat, or struggle, that the Baath could achieve Arab perfection. As Aflaq wrote:

"In this struggle we retain our love for all. When we are cruel to others, we know that our cruelty is in order to bring them back to their true selves, of which they are ignorant. Their potential will, which has not been clarified yet, is with us, even when their swords are drawn against us."

Struggle necessarily involves sacrifice, he emphasized, but amidst fiery conflict and bloodshed, each person "is forced to return to himself, to sink into his depths, to discover himself anew after experience and pain. At that point the true unity will be realized, and this is a new kind of unity different from political unity; it creates the unity of spirit among the individuals of the nation."

[Errigal]

Japan

Two interviews with the author Yukio Mishima

+ YouTube Video

+ YouTube Video

Yukio Mishima - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[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".