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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. Their slogan is "Sangathit Hindu, Samartha Bharat." (United Hindus, strong India).

Most of the nationalists are organized into various political, cultural and social organizations. The first organisation of these nationalists was the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, founded in 1925. The image of disciplined patriotism in the RSS gives a positive image of Hindu nationalism to millions of citizens who are disgusted and anxious of corruption, political warfare at the expense of the nation, and of terrorism and incursions into the country by Pakistani soldiers and agents, and Bangladeshi settlers. It is also true that the organization's membership exceed 5 millions, and that all together with the Sangh Parivar of sympathetic off-shoots, the size exceeds 10-12 million. The list of organisations now extends to around 40 as of 2005, most of which are part of the Sangh Parivar.

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 Vishva Hindu Parishad.

This right-wing ideology has existed since the early 20th century, but has not played a dominant role in Indian politics until the late 1980's. It then attracted many mainstream Hindus following two events. One was the Rajiv Gandhi government's use of a large Parliamentary Majority to overturn a Supreme Court verdict that had angered conservative Muslims (see the Shah Bano case). The second was a dispute over a 16th century Mughal Babri Mosque in Ayodhya that some Hindus claimed to be the birthplace and site of original temple of Rama, who is a highly revered incarnation of the Lord Vishnu. The mosque was destroyed by a Hindu mob in 1992, touching off rioting across the country.

Definition and etymology

In a judgment the Indian Supreme Court ruled that "no precise meaning can be ascribed to the terms 'Hindu', 'Hindutva' and 'Hinduism'; and no meaning in the abstract can confine it to the narrow limits of religion alone, excluding the content of Indian culture and heritage.

In a 1966 ruling, the Supreme Court of India defined the Hindu faith as follows for legal purposes:

The Supreme court definition of Hinduism is not accepted by all Hindus. Proponents of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, which are exclusive monotheistic faiths, noting point #6, believe that it reflects a Smarta view of Hinduism.

In popular usage Hindutva has come to be identified with the guiding ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu Nationalist organization. The etymology of the word is peculiar, "Hindu-" coming from a Persian root while "-tva" is a Sanskrit suffix. "Hindutva" is thus usually translated as "Hinduness", describing a nationalist identity based around the Hindu religion. It is in many respects a syncretic ideology; though it draws heavily from Hindu philosophy rhetorically and holds Hindu historical and religious figures up as inspirational examples, it is also centrally informed by Western traditions that have no basis in Hinduism.

Central beliefs

Some central beliefs of this version of Hindutva are:

Philosophy

The Hindu nationalists look upon themselves as great nation builders. They have the stated aim of uniting the Hindu society which is plagued by casteism, regionalism and passive religion.

Major Organizations

The major political wing is the BJP which was in power in India's Central Government for six years from 1998 to 2004 and is now the main opposition party. It is also in power in the six states of Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand. It is an alliance partner in the state of Orissa.

Views on other faiths

The advocates of Hindutva often use the term pseudo-secularism to refer to the Indian Constitution's provisions for minority rights. They point to the different standards for Hindus, Muslims and Christians. They rebel against an attempt to create what they see as a 'separate-but-equal' system; some supporters of Hindutva see it as the Indian National Congress party's effort to woo the sizeable minority vote bank at the expense of true equality. The subject of a Uniform Civil Code, which would remove special religion-based provisions for Muslims and Christians from the Indian Constitution, is thus one of the main political planks of Hindutva. The Uniform Civil Code is opposed by Muslims, Christians and parties like the Indian National Congress and The Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Followers contend that in a secular democracy it makes little sense to allow Muslims, for example, to marry more than once, but prosecute Hindus or Christians for doing the same. Muslims are also funded for the Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca and subsidies for their religious schools Madrasa. While Hindus claim they are accorded no similar privilege for their own pilgrimages or religious schools by the Government of India. Not only are Hindus not accorded any special privileges despite being the majority, they are even made to pay for subsidies to Muslims and Christians pilgrimages and religious education.

Christians are also given separate standards for divorce (which is more difficult for them than it is for Hindus). The amendment of the Indian constitution by Rajiv Gandhi to overturn a Supreme Court judgment under pressure from the conservative Muslims incensed the Hindutva supporters. The amended laws, more in tune with the Shariat, reduced the rights that divorced Muslim women previously had.

Many feel that Hindutva speaks for the Hindu majority in India. They also often feel that Secular democracy results in equality for religion, and want UCC passed for the same reason.

Indian fascism?

Indian fascism is a term that has been applied by critics to certain Hindu organisations based on the principle of Hindutva, in particular the Sangh Parivar.

The ideological beginning of this line of political thought in modern India. is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). It was formed in 1925 in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. The RSS has had close ties with Hindu Mahasabha but never split from it.

Its aim, according to some critics, is to remould the Indian polity into a militarized society. Its motto is 'Sangathit Hindu, Samaratha Bharat' i.e. 'United Hindus, strong India'. The RSS is a strictly regimented cadre-based organisation. Critics call it a secretive, semi para-military organisation. It has widespread support among Indian Hindus. Its head is the sarsanghachalak or supreme dictator whose word is sacrosanct in the parivar (family).

The RSS has established a number of organisations to push its agenda. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or World Hindu Council was established to network with Hindus outside India. The Bajrang Dal is the youth wing of the VHP. The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is the political wing of the RSS and draws its cadre mostly from the RSS.

The RSS worldview looks at India as the fount of civilisation, from where all knowledge spread to the rest of the world. To this end one of its goals is to replace the history currently being taught in Indian universities. RSS has brought up atrocities done on lower caste Hindus by Muslim rulers in the past, calling the receieved history for example of Aurangazeb a construct of leftist historians.

Some feel a campaign of "saffronisation" has occurred where school history textbooks have been altered to portray a negative image of Muslims and Christians. Another aim is to distinguish so-called 'foreign religions' like Islam and Christianity from 'pure' Indian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism).

Literature

External links

Hindutva sites

News links

• Safronisation of Indian History Elicits Deafening Silence
• Manufacturing History
• Hindutva’s fascist heritage
• Tracing the origins of the Hindutva movement, it's ideology, goals and it's effects of India and Hindus worldwide
• The Foreign Exchange of Hate: IDRF and the American Funding of Hindutva/A Brief Outline of the Hindutva Movement
• INDIA: RE-EDUCATING A NATION
• In Modi's Gujarat, Hitler is a textbook hero
• Is India Going the Way of 1930s Germany?
• The struggle for the Hindu soul from The Economist
• Hijacking India's History, Kai Friese , New York Times (2002)

Sources