Omkar Dattatray

Hindutva’s philosophy is in the news again thanks to the release of the book Surise Over Ayodhya by former cabinet minister Salman Khurshid, Nationhood is our times. Unfortunately, the author of the book wrote that Hindutva is similar to the jihadist ideology of ISIS and Boko Haram. His party colleague and former opposition leader in Raj Sabha said it was factually wrong to compare Hindutva to the jihadist ideology of ISIS and Boko Haram. In fact, the debate on the subject and the philosophy of Hindutva has gained momentum because of the revelations of the recently published book. The point is that the Hindutva is neither communal nor against any religion. The Hindutva is all inclusive and all absorbing and as such is very lively and assimilating and as such it is inappropriate to call it communal. The Hindutva embraces and assimilates everything. He is neither anti-religious nor irreligious but is neutral in religious matters. It is a composite culture like Hinduism and therefore it is wrong to compare it to the jihadist ideology of ISIS and Boko Haram. Hindutva is actually a concept of Indian cultural, national and religious identity. The identity of India is intrinsically linked to the eternal philosophy of the Hindutva. For centuries India has offered a unique way of life because it is based on spirituality. India believes that the truth can have various forms, names, ways to reach the supreme truth. Although diverse, all of these paths are equal. Hindutva believes in unity in diversity and India has the ability to establish unity among such expansive variety. Being a Hindu or Hindutva has become the identity of all Bharathyas. The founder of RSS Dr.KB Hedgewar made the Hindutva the tool to awaken the sense of unity among all Indians, connecting them with each other, regardless of their caste, religion, region and language. He began to organize the whole society by tying them together with the Hindutva thread. But those who, for their individual and political gains, wanted to keep society divided began to oppose the Hindutva and the Sangh, calling them communal, regressive, divisive and anti-minorities. Unfortunately, elements with special interests began to confuse Hinduism as virtue and Hindutva as evil. Those who oppose the Hindutva themselves espouse the Hindutva and their Hindu roots by visiting temples. The president of the congress Rahul Gandhi did the same. Hindutva has been in the news for the past decade and the debate around it has generated enough heat and little light. It is frequently presented as an obscure concept, so that even when given some recognition, it is presented as oscillating between nostalgia and utopia. Unfortunately, the Hindutva movement has been described as a variant of right-wing extremism and as almost fascist in the classical sense adhering to a concept of a homogenized majority and cultural hegemony. Hindutva is actually Bharatiyata and that implies cultural nationalism and patriotism and as such it cannot be compared to jihadist ideology. Hindutva symbolizes the culture of tolerance and mutual brotherhood and therefore cannot be called community by any standard. Thus, the Hindutva is a similar philosophy to that of Ram Raja in the land and striving for it. Thus, to equate it with militant ideology is false and has no taker. Hindutva is not a deviation from the composite culture of Hinduism and as such the creed and theme of Hindutva is not the antithesis of tolerant culture of the land. Hindutva is rather an extension of the concept of composite culture of Hinduism and is in no way against the tolerant culture of India and therefore cannot be labeled as communal and intolerant, but the point is that the concept and the practice of Hindutva are inclusive and not exclusive. like some other religions in the country. Hindutva is through and through patriotism and nationalism and that is Sanaskritik Rashtrawad. As such, it cannot be narrow, conservative, and orthodox, but it is comprehensive and in no way contrary to the spirit of ancient India. Hindutva conforms to ancient Sanatan Dharma and classical Hinduism and hence the refined word Hindutva is the soul and spirit of this nation and therefore there is no harm in pursuing the Hindutva. Thus, Hindutva as a way of life is the aim and objective of the right-wing parties of India. Hindutva’s philosophy believes in the unity of humanity and does not distinguish between religions, but it is very dynamic, accommodating and tolerant and constitutes the soul and spirit of this nation and therefore cannot be compared to the jihadist ideology of ISIS. He is very tolerant and does not believe in extremism and therefore it is not appropriate to label him as an extremist and jihadist as he is against the spirit of Hinduism. The point is, you cannot tell the difference between Hindu and Hindutva because both are the same and one depends on the other. Hindutva is not narrow, parochial and conservative but is dynamic and just as absorbing as it is accommodating and therefore should not be bracketed as communal and anti-religion. According to congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad, it is factually wrong to compare Hindutva with jihadist ideology and this is an exaggeration and therefore the concept and principle of Hindutva is a pious term and is not against any religion but is in accordance with true Hinduism. It is very unfortunate that congress leaders like Rahul Gandhi, Prinyanka Gandhi and other leaders speak out against Hinduism and Sanatan Dharama. The leaders of the congress generally take pleasure in humiliating Hinduism and all that is national and Hindu. Hinduism and Hinduism are an eyesore to the Congress Party and therefore its leaders are spitting venom at the symbols of Hinduism. Congress leaders have in the past denounced Hindutva and questioned the existence of Lord Rama and some of the congress leaders said Ram, Laximan and Sita are fictions of the imagination and it is not known whether they really existed or not. So some congress presidents like to denounce Hinduism and Hindutva and they like to say that if it is true that Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya. So everything that is Hindu and Indian is humiliated by the leaders of the congress. So Hindutva is the theme that is criticized by the congress leaders and they call it extremist and they coined the word Hindu terror and saffron terror when the point is that Hindu is more tolerant and cannot as such be called intolerant and extremist by any standard. It is very unfortunate that some leaders of the Muslim community have said that take away the police for fifteen minutes and that we will teach the infidels a lesson. But compared to this mentality, the concept of Hindutva is more tolerant and accommodating and there is nothing in common about it. He believes in the unity of humanity and in the equal respect of all religions and it is therefore wrong to regard Hindutva as communal and extremist when the harsh reality is that Hindutva and Hinduism are very old and are very tolerant, absorbent and assimilator. The Hindutva is cultural nationalism and patriotism and is not narrow and conservative but dynamic and progressive and therefore the concept and principle of Hindutva should not be labeled as extremist while the fact is that the principle of l ‘Hindutva is all absorbing and dynamic and as such should not be denounced by pseudo secular people in the country. So for the sake of appeasement of minorities and for the policy of the voting bank, the Hindutva doctrine must not be denounced but it must be greeted by the people of this country because it is in this that lies the well of this nation called Bharat. Therefore, what is required is that the doctrine of the Hindutva be embraced in all humility by the people of this country because it is in this that the good of all the people resides. In short, Hindutva is cultural nationalism through and through.

(The writer is a columnist and social activist)

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