Hindu nationalism

Hindu nationalism is a nationalist ideology that sees the modern state of the Republic of India as a Hindu polity ("Hindu Rashtra"), and seeks to preserve the Hindu heritage. Although the concept of "Hindu Rashtra" has been used in slogans and pamphlets of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main group that promotes this ideology, it has not been clearly and unambiguously defined in any of their literature. The notion of "Hindu principles" (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.

History

Historical instances

It is unclear as to when Hindu nationalism began. Some propagate that, like in every culture, it was constantly present, in its various forms, over the 5000 year known history of Hinduism. Conflicts which sometimes occurred between Hindus and Buddhists in the period after the fall of Ashoka have mostly been omitted from historical descriptions of Hindu nationalism, mainly because the modern Hindutva movement considers Buddhists to be within the fold of Hinduism. However, it can be suggested that the minor conflicts between Hindus and Buddhists were based on power and religion but conflicts also existed with Buddhists and Jains therefore, whether this can be considered nationalism is unknown.

Hindu nationalism continued to sprout up through history when foreign invaders were present. This was particularly true of the Islamic invasions in the 8th century AD. The large number of Hindus who fought wars against the Muslims were mainly fighting for a nationalist cause to maintain their religion and their states. The concept of Kshatriya, who were intended to protect the dharma, is in itself Hindu nationalism, as it suggests that the Hindu people and Hindu religion may need protection from outside influences.

Hindu reform movements

Main article: Hindu reform movements

Swami Vivekananda

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, sati, 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, a follower of Ramakrishna Paramahansa. The Ramakrishna Mission he founded has grown into one of India's most important charities and community organizations.

Sri Aurobindo

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. Madan Mohan Malviya, a politician with the Congress Party who founded the Benares Hindu University, which grew into a major centre of learning.

Savarkar

The term Hindutva and the associated ideology were propounded by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a 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, as they expect each citizen to express his or her loyalty to the nation. 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.

Independence movement and Partition of India

Main article: Partition of India

There were repeated attempts by Hindu nationalists to assassinate Mahatma Gandhi, successfully killing him on 30 January 1948.

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 majority Hindu nationalist politicians and social groups. 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 created an atmosphere of Hindu humiliation that led to retaliatory mass killings of Muslims by Hindus in India during the Partition riots.

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 concept of the Two-nation theory while disagreeing with it in practice. 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 by Nathuram Godse, the Sangh Parivar was plunged into distress by Jawaharlal Nehru, as the RSS was the prime accused in organizing his murder through their ex-member Godse. 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

Hindu Rāshtra

The ambiguous meaning of the slogan Hindu Rāshtra (literally, "Hindu polity"), often mentioned in texts on the Bharatiya Janata Party ("Indian Peoples' Party", part of the Sangh Parivar) has been summed up by one of its top leaders, Lal Krishna Advani, as follows. He starts by correctly pointing out that:

The term Hindu Rāshtra was never used during the Jana Sangh days, neither had it ever been mentioned in any manifesto of the BJP

The BJP has never used the term Hindu Rāshtra. In contrast with the BJP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ("National Volunteer Organisation", also known as the RSS, which forms the main arm of the Sangh Parivar) openly espouses the concept of Hindu Rāshtra, but RSS statements about this central concept are not much more forthright than Advani's. For example, in a book by H.V. Sheshadri, a senior leader of the RSS writes:

As Hindu Rashtra is not a religious concept, it is also not a political concept. It is generally misinterpreted as a theocratic state or a religious Hindu state. Nation (Rashtra) and State (Rajya) are entirely different and should never be mixed up. State is purely a political concept. ... The State changes as the political authority shifts from person to person or party to party. But the people in the Nation remain the same.

— K.S. Rao in H. V. Seshadri, ed.:Why Hindu Rashtra?, p.24

The Hindu state is suggested as something that has always been there and always will exist in the future. It has not been discussed in Hindu nationalist circles as a revolutionary ideal. Hindu nationalists, however, assure the world that the concept of Hindu Rashtra does not contradict the principles of secularism and democracy.

In this somewhat vague definition of a Hindu nation, a Hindu is connoted beyond just as an adherent of Hinduism. For some, the term Hindu is set to encompass the adherents to a culture, that is, the unique Indian culture. For others, however, the definition of Hindu is extended to all Indians as long as they have an ancestral connection to the Hindu Rashtra (ie. the Indian subcontinent). Those proponents have argued that even Muslim and Christian Indians are Hindus, as their ancestors were Hindu, and despite their religion, their culture and heritage is the same as that of India's natural Hindu majority. Many Hindu nationalists also prescribe to a vision of Akhand Bharat (United India), wherein the partition of India is reversed to found a nation based on what they consider as India's natural territorial extent in terms of the bonds of history, culture, economy and people.

Advocates of Hindu Rashtra contend that Hinduism's strong legacy of tolerance for diverse philosophies and reform movements, and the root idea of universal human brotherhood is the reason for the country's vibrant fabric of diversity, and thus every person, community and institution is perennially Hindu. In that sense, it is contended that the term Hindu in this case is a synecdoche for all indigenous Indian religions and philosophies. In that vein, some advocates of the "Hindu Rashtra" prefer to think of the concept as inclusive of religions that evolved in India (such as Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism), and thus are believed to be compatible with Indian social ethos. The adherents of the Hindu Rashtra philosophy claim that the English term nation is only a crude translation of the Sanskrit term rāshtra. Their term rashtra does not mean a European-type nation with one ethnicity, one common history, one language and one religion. In fact, the proper english translation of 'Hindu rashtra' would be 'Hindu polity' and not 'Hindu nation'.

The Sangh Parivar

File:Hedgewar.png

K.B.Hedgewar

The Sangh Parivar is an umbrella organization of social, religious and political organizations that make up or support directly or indirectly the Hindu nationalist ideology in character and purpose, most who are exponents of Hindutva and other forms of Hindu expression. Today, its is the largest organization of Hindu nationalist expression and activity in India and the world at large. The Sangh Parivar consists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharatiya Janata Party, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and numerous other organisations in India and across the world.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

Main article: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was founded in Nagpur, Maharashtra in 1925 by K.B. Hedgewar, a physician who felt that Hindu social unity was a deeply important foundation for a free India. The RSS stayed out of the freedom struggle as such, but promoted a brotherhood amongst its membership, working to erase caste distinctions, and for the upliftment of backward Hindu communities. To this day, the RSS claims to stand for the Hindu nation in terms of culture and social heritage, which it believes Muslims and Christians are naturally a part of, despite their religion, as their ancestors were Hindus and their basic culture and lifestyle is Hindu.

During the 1947 riots and population exchange the RSS organized relief camps for Sikhs and Hindus coming to India from Pakistan. The RSS under its second leader Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar developed a reputation as a socio-cultural organization whose selfless volunteers were always at the forefront of several patriotic endeavors in India. The RSS holds that Christians and Muslims are basically converts from Hinduism and should be reintegrated into the mainstream of Indian Hindu culture other wise leave India. Christianity has had a toehold in India since the middle of the first century-far longer than in many parts of Europe-but Christians still represent less than 2 percent of the population. Muslims, although(13-14%), number somewhere between 138 million , however, which makes India the third biggest Muslim country in the world after Indonesia. Pakistan, which was partitioned from India by in 1947, 161 million people mostly muslim.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh renounces the Indian caste system and the practice of Untouchability and works to emancipate the lower castes from persecution and discrimination in India[1]. They have also engaged in numerous relief efforts in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been plagued by terrorism[2].

Vishwa Hindu Parishad

Main article: Vishwa Hindu Parishad

The RSS also sponsored the creation of independent organizations to open different avenues in forwarding its main mission. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad was organized in 1967 by Hindu religious leaders and RSS members to focus exclusively on reviving the Hindu religion, religious tradition and expanding community unity. The VHP has adopted the Ram Janmabhoomi issue as its own, while preaching against religious conversions and advocating a ban on cow slaughter. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is one of India's major student organizations, while some labor and farmer unions have also been formed.

Bharatiya Janata Party

Main article: Bharatiya Janata Party

The Bharatiya Janata Party and its predecessor the Bharatiya Jana Sangh are considered by observers and critics as the political wing of the RSS. Founded by Syama Prasad Mookerjee in 1951, the Jana Singh transformed into the BJP in 1980, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani, both proteges of Mookerjee have led to become one of the largest political parties in India.

The BJP adopted came into power federally within India 1996, but had to give up power after 13 days because of a transfer of the majority. In 1998, the BJP formed the forefront of the National Democratic Alliance and came to power once again. It led India to victory in the Kargil War and was re-elected for a five year term in 1999. The BJP government lost the 2004 Indian General Elections to the now ruling Indian National Congress, nevertheless it continues to have great support under the leadership of Rajnath Singh.

International presence

Main article: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh

The RSS and associated Hindu nationalist bodies founded the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh in the 1980s, to foster a sense of common heritage and community discipline amongst expatriate Hindus living in North America and Western Europe. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad also maintains major branch organizations in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France.

The activities of these bodies are largely de-politicized, and mainly work to bring Hindu communities together by sponsoring temple programs, pujas and festivals, and conducting camp programs for young Hindus to learn religious literature, Indian languages and history, to cultivate a sense of identity.

Violence

See also: Communal violence

On December 6, 1992, a large procession of VHP activists destroyed the Babri Mosque, which has been claimed to have been built over Ram Janmabhoomi, in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama.

The VHP and the BJP have been blamed for organizing the mob violence and mass murder attacks on Muslim civilians across the state of Gujarat in 2002 following the burning alive of Hindu pilgrims in the Godhra train burning.

The sequence of events leading to the violence in Godhra, the Muslim attack on the passenger train in Godhra, and the Hindu retalliation is well documented. While the Indian government claimed 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus died in the violence. It is estimated by human rights groups that upwards estimates of 1,000 people and possibly over 2,000 (majority Muslims) were killed by mobs during this Gujarat riot with tens of thousands of Muslim Gujaratis displaced.

See also: Babri Mosque, 2002 Gujarat violence, Godhra Train Burning, and communal violence

References

• Elst, Koenraad (2005). Decolonizing the Hindu mind. India: Rupa. ISBN 81-7167-519-0.
• Blank, Jonah. Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God.
• Savarkar, Vinayak Damodar (1923). Hindutva. Delhi, India: Bharati Sahitya Sadan.
• Gandhi, Rajmohan. Patel: A Life.
• Ainslie T. Embree, ‘The Function of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh: To Define the Hindu Nation’, in Accounting for Fundamentalisms, The Fundamentalism Project 4, ed. Martin E. Marty and R. Scott Appleby (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994), pp. 617–652. (ISBN 0-226-50885-4)
• Partha Banerjee, In the Belly of the Beast: The Hindu Supremacist RSS and BJP of India (Delhi: Ajanta, 1998). OCLC 43318775
• Walter K. Andersen. ‘Bharatiya Janata Party: Searching for the Hindu Nationalist Face’, In The New Politics of the Right: Neo–Populist Parties and Movements in Established Democracies, ed. Hans–Georg Betz and Stefan Immerfall (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998), pp. 219–232. (ISBN 0-312-21134-1 or ISBN 0-312-21338-7)

External links

• The Hindu phenomenon- Girilal Jain
• Why Hindu Rashtra
• Video documentary showcasing the social service works of the RSS
• Hindu Janajagruti Samiti
• Voice of Dharma

See also

• Hindu nationalist parties
• Saffronization