Hindutva

Hinduism Hindutva is a popular concept in India that represents Hindu ideology and promotes the hegemony of Hinduism in government, even at the expense of others. Directly translated as “Hinduness”, Hindutva was established as an official term made up by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923 (Falak). Opponents of Hindutva suggest that it is greatly similar to fascism in the sense that it oppresses the beliefs and liberties of minority groups. On the other hand, the Sanatan Sanstha was founded by Jayant

Throughout the text, Savarkar is subtley pushing for a politically charged Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra as opposed to a diverse, polymorphous Hinduism. With reference to his perception of India or as would have called it, Hindustan, Savarkar claimed that “Hindus formed a nation that had existed since antiquity”6 Romila Thapar in her essay “Perceptions of the Past”, talks about how one's notion of race influences their ideology. Max Mueller, for instance, while studying Sankrit tried to explain that

"We must look after the Muslims and treat them as part of us." This seems like a pleasant statement from Mr. Bal Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena party and a proponent of the Hindutva movement, but it hardly works to conceal the villainous face of the Hindu nationalistic movement he follows. This movement aims to protect the interests of India by enhancing cohesion not only within the Hindu classes but also with other religious communities present in the country. However, this movement has

Hindu religion. This term was coined Hindutva, as opposed to Hinduism which is regarded in a social/political communalist context. Hindutva, on the other hand, advocated national unity and fraternal brotherhood among all Indians. Hinduism is a movement centred around a religion, or in essence, is a religion which spans roughly 4th century CE. The followers of the religion are called Hindus, though in a different connotation as compared to Savarkar 's Hindutva. For Savarkar, Hindus were a people

corporates, media, middle classes, Hindutva activists, a section of Other Backward Classes and Dalits along with the poor) has fundamentally challenged the liberal conception of democracy. It is interesting to note that a person widely regarded as anti-minorities while ignoring the normative principle of ‘rule of law’ when protecting the minorities from majoritarian violence, gets elected by popular mandate. In this respect, Moditva (‘Modified’ version of Hindutva) might pose possible threats to India’s

CHAPTER 2 HINDU NATIONALISTS AD THEIR LOVE FOR FASCISM Introduction Various organisations in India who laid their foundation resting their ideology on' one nation, one culture, one language and one religion' are found to follow the footsteps of Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany was adopted as the apt role model for the Sangh Parivar, especially the concept of anti-Semitism was embraced with more enthusiasm. Like the Jews were for Germans, Muslims are for the Hindu fanatics of Sangh Parivar. The bodies

INTRODUCTION – The communal politics in India started from 1970s when emergency was declared in India. The Congress was unable to fulfill its promises, conditions of India deteriorated, GDP dumps. Other parties were also unable to deliver the expectation of people, and then BJP comes with communal politics by raising Babri Masjid case. Rathyatra led by Advani is an important event which created enthusiasm in a particular section of community. After Dandi March, this is the one yatra which has succeeded

Religious Politics in India There are one billion people in India, the second most populous country in the world. This means every sixth person in the world is an Indian. About 450 million Indians live below the poverty line. Suppression of religious minorities and its nuclear blasts have made India visible to the world. One of the messages that India sent to the world was that it needs to be reckoned with. The Hindu nationalist leadership on the whole sent this message. While each country

Struggle Between Hindu and Secular Nationalisms in India India holds a prominent place in the history of imperialism and decolonization, making recent events in this country of nearly one billion especially important to the current day citizen. India also faces problems associated with accommodating religion and diversity within a large federal republic, making their experience important for Americans concerned with these issues. India faces growing action of governing which invites the use of

The Indian state, while ostensibly secular, nevertheless has institutionally always been set up to intervene in religious affairs. The Indian constitution “enshrines the right to individual freedom of religion, [but] also empowers the state to intervene in Hindu religious institutions.” (Sen 16) The constitution, for instance, calls on the state to ban untouchability, an abhorrent Hindu practice, establishing affirmative action to help certain disadvantaged religious groups and puts in place separate