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Hindu Nationalism
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Hindu Nationalism and Democracy examines the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as one of the dominant forces within Indian politics. The ideology of the party is analyzed as a form of religious nationalism, with possible strains in its relation to the religious minorities of India. The book focuses on the position of the Muslim minority and analyzes he position of the BJP in relation to two issues with major importance within Indian politics: Uniform Civil Code - Shah Bano case and controversy in Ayodhya. Both issues have been studied on a national level and in a local study conducted in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
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Hinduism too gave rise to forms of exclusivism as Hindu nationalism demonstrated. This took the form of henoexclusivism since its exclusivism was limited to the people and country of India. Hindu nationalism was religious, radical and revivalist and despite arising under the same conditions as Hindu universalism and the kind of nationalism it influenced, it responded to those conditions in a very different way. Hindu nationalism scorned western norms and values, identifying the Indian with the Hindu. If India was to be truly independent, the Hindu nationalists argued, it must develop organically in accordance with indigenous standards and principles, its unity deriving from the dominance of the Hindu way of life. Hindu nationalists found nothing admirable or appropriate in the western political agenda, which they regarded as an adverse alien influence on Indian life, nor were they disposed to make any concession to minority communities, especially Muslims, because that would detract from the unity of the Hindu nation.
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All Indians may think of themselves as composing a diverse Hindu culture, but political appeals like Joshi's fall under Hindu nationalism professing to protect Hindu supremacy in India. Within the Indian secular state, "Hindu nationalists claim to organise Hindus in a parallel civil society of its own- a Hindu nation beyond the state with the Rashtriya Swayamsvak Sangh (RSS) as its chief executive, protector and purifier" (Hansen, 125). The Indian Express circulated the RSS's offensive against Christian missionaries to convert villagers in the Dangs to "'Hinduise' the Bhil, Varli and other tribes living in the heavy forests in Dangs region" ("Sangh's Hindutva Offensive heading for Dangs," The Indian Express 20/9/2005). The RSS claimed the area as the setting where a woman offered her 'ber' to Ram and Lakshman in the Ramayana. Every four years the RSS plans to hold a Mela, or pilgrimmage, to the area to combat Christian conversions sweeping the area since 1998 that they fear will upset Hindu authority over the region.
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The RSS advocates a form of Hindu nationalism, which seeks to establish India as a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation), and rejects the notion of a composite Indian identity brought about by a synthesis of different cultures and faiths. This particular ideology is variously called an ideology of Hindu pride, Hindu patriotism, Hindu fundamentalism, Hindu revivalism, Hindu chauvinism, Hindu fascism or Hindutva. What is beyond doubt is the exclusionary and discriminatory nature of the ideology. The last mentioned – Hindutva (Hinduness/Hinduhood) – is the term most popularly attached to this ideology and will be term of choice in this appendix.
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In the United States, the fervour of long distance Hindutva nationalism is intense. Dangerous stories circulate. Muslims are polygamous terrorists whose deliberate identification and massacre in Gujarat is justifiable, even necessary. The campaign for trifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir is logical. Ayodhya is a defensible expression of cultural pride. In this unreflective chasm of proxy nationalism, a substantial community is supportive of Hindutva or unconcerned with its wretchedness.
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It is precisely this presentation of Hindu universalism as Hinduism par excellence that makes Hindu nationalism appear anomalous and aberrant, as reactions to events at Ayodhya show. Ayodhya constitutes but one manifestation of Hindu nationalism among many. For instance, campaigners on behalf of low castes and women view with concern what they see as the reactionary social agenda of Hindu nationalists running counter to the constitutional commitment to equality. However, events at Ayodhya have proven the most controversial, not least because campaigners on social issues have recognised the far-reaching implications.
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Hindu Nationalism