Hindu Nationalism

Hindu nationalism is the notion that politics should be organized in accordance to Hindu doctrines and practices, including but not limited to the desire for a political state, specifically India, based on Hinduism.

The impulse for Hindu nationalism began as a response to British colonialism in the 19th century. As Western culture materialized in India, Hindus sought to affirm their identity as a religious and ethnic group. Many Hindus turned to religious revivals to “purify” Hinduism as a religion and India as a nation from perceived Western corruption. Hindu religious revivals were connected to regional and national pride as well as religious conviction. As a result of these revivals, Hindu nationalism emerged as a movement interested in ending foreign rule, reviving Hindu religious practice, and asserting a unified religious and political identity based on a shared Hindu heritage.

One of the most significant expressions of Hindu nationalism came from V. D. Savarkar's 1924 book Essentials of Hindutva. Considering Hindutva as distinct from Hinduism, Savarkar defined a Hindu as one who considered India “Father and Holy land.” This definition included individuals who practiced religions other than Hinduism, notably Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism. As long as a religion's origins began in the same geographical region as Hinduism, it too could be considered “Hindu.” Savarkar purposefully drew boundaries between those who “belonged to” India and those who did not. In their most militant interpretations, Hindu nationalists, with ideological roots in Savarkar's work, believe that Christians and Muslims, whose holy lands are in the Middle East, are intruders who do not belong in India and cannot be fully loyal to it. Furthermore, individuals with “Hindu blood,” according to Savarkar, are superior to those lacking Hindu blood. This Hindu race and its common culture found in Hinduism amounted to a distinct Hindu civilization for Savarkar and his followers.

The organization that best represents the ideologies expressed by Hindu nationalists is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or National Volunteer Corps, founded in 1925. The RSS advocated a Hindu-centric Indian identity. For the RSS, India was a Hindu country with a shared religion, language, and ethnicity. This ideology was often expressed in the expression “Hindu, Hindi, Hindustan.” RSS, and Hindu nationalism more generally, emerged parallel to secular Indian [Page 518]nationalism and Mahatma Gandhi's Congress Party. The Congress Party, unlike the RSS, advocated a universal Pan-Indian identity and secular government. Hindu nationalists at the beginning of the 20th century framed their identity and ideology in opposition to the Congress Party in general and Gandhi in particular as they campaigned for a Hindu-based Indian identity and government. In 1936, Laxmi Kelkar established the women's auxiliary organization to RSS, the Rashtra Sevika Samiti. Rather than advocate for women's rights, this organization focused on sustaining women's devotion to their families and the greater Hindu family. Samiti members emphasized the importance of women personally sacrificing for Hindu civilization as a fulfillment of their national duty, ethnic heritage, and spiritual role.

After Indian independence in 1947, the RSS formed political organizations including the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Since the formation of the BJS and VHP, RSS-inspired political and social organizations continue to emerge on both local and national levels. The proliferation of these organizations has produced a multitude of Hindu nationalist ideologies inspired by, though not necessarily completely based on, Hindutva.

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