Hindutva

Hindutva, also known as Hindu nationalism, is the name of a fascist political belief held by many Hindu organizations such as the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Members of Hindutva ideology have committed violence against minorities such as Christians and Muslims.

Origin

Hindutva was made popular by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. Savarkar believed that Indian Christians and Muslims couldn't be loyal to India because their holy sites were outside India. Groups that believe in Hindutva include but not limited to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), and the Sangh Parivar. Because of this, some people accuse Hindutva of being a "fascist" idea, while others[who?] see Hindutva as conservative.

Reception

Christophe Jaffrelot

As per Christophe Jaffrelot, a political scientist specializing in South Asia, the Hindutva ideology has roots in an era where the fiction in ancient Indian mythology and the Vedics was thought to be valid. This fiction was used to "give sustenance to Hindu ethnic consciousness". Its strategy emulated the Muslim identity politics of the Khilafat movement after World War I and borrowed political concepts from the West – mainly Germany.

Anthony Parel

As per Anthony Parel, a historian and political scientist, V. D. Savarkar's Hindutva, Who is a Hindu? (1923) is a fundamental text of Hindutva ideology. He comments on Savarkar's summary of Hindu culture as " a self-sufficient culture, not needing any input from other cultures" by saying that this is "an unhistorical, narcissistic and false account of India's past".

Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad

Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, a fellow of the British Academy and a scholar of Politics and Philosophy of Religion, says that Hindutva is a form of nationalism that is seen differently by its opponents and its supporters. The Hindutva ideology according to Savarkar, states Ram-Prasad, is based on "geography, race, and culture".

References

  1. ↑ Sant, Patricia M. (1999). Indigeneity: Construction and Re/Presentation. Nova Science Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56072-674-6.
  2. ↑ "In photos: Damaged churches, broken homes are the lingering scars of the 2008 Kandhamal riots". 5 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Pavan Kulkarni (28 May 2019). "How Did Savarkar, a Staunch Supporter of British Colonialism, Come to Be Known as 'Veer'?". The Wire.
  4. ↑ Elison, William; Novetzke, Christian Lee; Rotman, Andy (4 January 2016). Amar Akbar Anthony: Bollywood, Brotherhood, and the Nation. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-49599-9.
  5. ↑ The Hindutva Road, Frontline, 4 December 2004
  6. ↑ Krishna 2011, p. 324.
  7. ↑ Chetan Bhatt; Parita Mukta (May 2000). "Hindutva in the West: Mapping the Antinomies of Diaspora Nationalism". Ethnic and Racial Studies. 23 (3): 407–441. doi:10.1080/014198700328935. S2CID 143287533.
  8. ↑ Jaffrelot, Christophe 2009. Hindu Nationalism: a reader. Princeton University Press. pp. 14–15, 86–93. ISBN 1-4008-2803-1
  9. ↑ Anthony J. Parel (2006). Gandhi's Philosophy and the Quest for Harmony. Cambridge University Press. pp. 42–43. ISBN 978-0-521-86715-3.
  10. ↑ Ram‐Prasad, C. (1993). "Hindutva ideology: Extracting the fundamentals". Contemporary South Asia. 2 (3): 285–309.