Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of political thought, based on the native social and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. It is better described as seeking a "Hindu polity".
The native thought streams became highly relevant in Indian history when they helped form a distinctive identity about the Indian polityChatterjee Partha (1986) and provided a basis for questioning colonialism.Peter van der Veer, Hartmut Lehmann, Nation and religion: perspectives on Europe and Asia, Princeton University Press, 1999 p. 90 These also inspired Indian nationalists during the independence movement based on armed struggle,Li Narangoa, R. B. Cribb Imperial Japan and National Identities in Asia, 1895–1945, Published by Routledge, 2003 p. 78 coercive politics,Bhatt, Chetan, Hindu Nationalism: Origins, Ideologies and Modern Myths, Berg Publishers (2001), . P. 55 and non-violent protests. They also influenced social reform movements and economic thinking in India.
Today, Hindutva (meaning ) is the dominant form of Hindu nationalist politics in India. As a political ideology, the term Hindutva was articulated by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. Hindutva is championed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Hindutva paramilitary organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), and other organisations in an ecosystem called the Sangh Parivar.
Evolution of ideological terminology and influences
In the first half of the 20th century, factions of Indian National Congress continued to be identified with "Hindu politics" and ideas of a Hindu nation. The word "Hindu", throughout history, had been used as an inclusive description that lacked a definition and was used to refer to the native traditions and people of India. It was only in the late 18th century that the word "Hindu" came to be used extensively with religious connotation, while still being used as a synecdoche describing the indigenous traditions. Hindu nationalist ideologies and political languages were very diverse both linguistically and socially. Since Hinduism does not represent an identifiable religious group, terms such as 'Hindu nationalism', and 'Hindu', are considered problematic in the case of religious and nationalism discourse. As Hindus were identifiable as a homogeneous community, some individual Congress leaders were able to induce a symbolism with "Hindu" meaning inside the general stance of secular nationalism.On Understanding Islam: Selected Studies, By Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Published by Walter de Gruyter, 1981,
The diversity of Indian cultural groups and moderate positions of Hindu nationalism have sometimes made it regarded as cultural nationalism rather than a religious one.Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, one of the main votaries of Hindutva has stated that it believes in a cultural connotation of the term Hindu. "The term Hindu in the conviction as well as in the constitution of the RSS is a cultural and civilizational concept and not a political or religious dogma. The term as a cultural concept will include and did always include all including Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Muslims, Christians and Parsis. The cultural nationality of India, in the conviction of the RSS, is Hindu and it was inclusive of all who are born and who have adopted Bharat as their Motherland, including Muslims, Christians and Parsis. The answering association submit that it is not just a matter of RSS conviction, but a fact borne out by history that the Muslims, Christians and Parsis too are Hindus by culture although as religions they are not so." Quoting RSS General Secretary's reply to the Tribunal constituted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 to hear the case on the RSS, Organiser, 6 June 1993
Shivaji and his conquests are said to have served basis for Hindu nationalism. Hindutva creator Vinayak Damodar Savarkar writes that Shivaji had 'electrified' minds of the Hindus all over India by defeating the forces of the Mughals.
Nepali Hindu nationalism and practices Hinduisation policy of the Gorkhali monarch
Maharajadhiraja Prithvi Narayan Shah proclaimed the newly unified Kingdom of Nepal as Asal Hindustan ("Real Land of Hindus") because North India was ruled by the Islamic Mughal rulers. The proclamation was made to enforce the Hindu social code Dharmaśāstra over his reign and refer to his country as being inhabitable for Hindus. He also referred to the rest of Northern India as Mughlan (Country of Mughals) and called the region infiltrated by Muslim foreigners. After the Gorkhali conquest of the Kathmandu Valley, King Prithvi Narayan Shah expelled Christian Capuchin missionaries from Patan and renamed Nepal as Asali Hindustan (the real land of Hindus). The Tagadharis enjoyed a privileged status in the Nepalese capital and they were also given greater access to the authorities after these events. Subsequently, Hinduisation became the main policy of the Kingdom of Nepal. Prof. Harka Gurung speculates that the presence of Islamic Mughal rule and Christian British rule in India compelled the foundation of Hindu Nationalism in the Kingdom of Nepal, to build a haven for Hindus there.
Ideals of the Bharadari government The policies of the old Bharadari governments of the Gorkha Kingdom were derived from ancient Hindu texts such as the Dharmashastra The King was considered an incarnation of Vishnu and was the chief authority over legislative, judiciary and executive functions. The judiciary functions were decided based on the principles of Hindu Dharma codes of conduct. The king had full rights to expel any person who offended the country and also to pardon the offenders and grant their return to the country. The government in practicality was not an absolute monarchy due to the dominance of Nepalese political clans such as the Pande family and the Thapa family, making the Shah monarch a puppet ruler. These basic Hindu templates provide the evidence that Nepal was administered as a Hindu state.
Hindu civil code and legal regulations
The Nepali civil code, Muluki Ain, was commissioned by Jung Bahadur Rana after his European tour and enacted in 1854. It was rooted in traditional Hindu Law and codified social practices for several centuries in Nepal.Stiller, L. F. (1993). Nepal: Growth of a Nation. Human Resources Development Research Center, Kathmandu. The law also comprised Prāyaścitta (avoidance and removal of sin) and Ācāra (the customary law of different communities). It was an attempt to include the entire Hindu as well as the non-Hindu population of Nepal of that time into a single hierarchic civic code from the perspective of the Khas rulers. The Nepalese jati arrangement in terms of Hindu Varnashrama takes the Tagadhari to be the highest in the hierarchy. The ethnolinguistic group of people of Tamang, Sherpa and Tharu origin were tagged under the title Matwali ("Liquor Drinkers"), while those of Khas, Newari and Terai origin were termed Tagadhari ("Wearers of the Sacred Thread"). The Tagadhari castes could not be enslaved following any criminal punishment unless they had been expelled from the caste. The main broad caste categories in Nepal are Tagadharis (sacred thread bearers), Matwalis (liquor drinkers) and Dalits (or untouchables).
Modern age and the Hindu Renaissance in the 19th century
Many Hindu reform movements originated in the nineteenth century. These movements led to fresh interpretations of the ancient scriptures of Upanishads and Vedanta and also emphasised on social reform. The marked feature of these movements was that they countered the notion of the superiority of Western culture during the colonial era. This led to the upsurge of patriotic ideas that formed the cultural and ideological basis for the independence movement in Colonial India.
Brahmo Samaj The Brahmo Samaj was started by a Bengali scholar, Ram Mohan Roy in 1828. Ram Mohan Roy endeavoured to create from the ancient Upanishadic texts, a vision of rationalist 'modern' India. Socially, he criticised the ongoing superstitions,Glory of Indian Culture, p.40, Giriraj Shah Satya Pal Ruhela – 2003 and believed in a monotheistic Vedic religion. His major emphasis was social reform. He fought against Caste discrimination and advocated equal rights for women.Thomas R. Metcalf, A Concise History of India, Cambridge University Press, 2002 Although the Brahmos found favourable responses from the British government and Westernised Indians, they were largely isolated from the larger Hindu society due to their intellectual Vedantic and Unitarian views. However their efforts to systematise Hindu spirituality based on rational and logical interpretation of the ancient Indian texts would be carried forward by other movements in Bengal and across India.
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj is considered one of the overarching Hindu renaissance movements of the late nineteenth century. Swami Dayananda, the founder of Arya Samaj, rejected idolatry, caste restriction and untouchability, child marriage and advocated equal status and opportunities for women. He opposed "Brahmanism" (which he believed had led to the corruption of the knowledge of Vedas) as much as he opposed Christianity and Islam. Although Arya Samaj was often considered as a social movement, many revolutionaries and political leaders of the Indian Independence movement like Ramprasad Bismil,Bhagat Singh, Why I am an atheist, Selected Writings of Shaheed Bhagat Singh by Bhagat Singh, Shiv Verma, National Book Centre, 1986 Bhagat Singh, Shyamji Krishnavarma, Bhai Paramanand and Lala Lajpat Rai were inspired by it.Michael Francis O'Dwyer, India as I knew it, 1885–1925, Published by Constable, 1926
Swami Vivekananda
Another 19th-century Hindu reformer was Swami Vivekananda. Vivekananda as a student was educated in contemporary Western thought. He joined Brahmo Samaj briefly before meeting Ramakrishna, who was a priest in the temple of the goddess Kali in Calcutta and who was to become his guru. Under the influence of Orientalism, Perennialism and Universalism, Vivekananda re-interpreted Advaita Vedanta, presenting it as the essence of Hindu spirituality, and the development of human's religiosity. This project started with Ram Mohan Roy of Brahmo Samaj, who collaborated with the Unitarian Church, and propagated a strict monotheism. This reinterpretation produced neo-Vedanta, in which Advaita Vedanta was combined with disciplines such as yoga and the concept of social service to attain perfection from the ascetic traditions in what Vivekananda called the "practical Vedanta". The practical side essentially included participation in social reform.
He made Hindu spirituality, intellectually available to the Westernised audience. His famous speech in the Parliament of the World's Religions at Chicago on 11 September 1893, followed a huge reception of his thought in the West and made him a well-known figure in the West and subsequently in India too. His influence can still be recognised in popular Western spirituality, such as nondualism, New Age and the veneration of Ramana Maharshi.
A major element of Vivekananda's message was nationalism. He saw his effort very much in terms of a revitalisation of the Hindu nation, which carried Hindu spirituality and which could counter Western materialism. The notions of the superiority of Western culture against the culture of India, were to be questioned based on Hindu spirituality. It also became a main inspiration for Hindu nationalism today. "Vivekananda is like Gita for the RSS" was the lifelong pet sentence of one of the most revered leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Babasaheb Apte. Some historians have observed that this helped the nascent Independence movement with a distinct national identity and kept it from being the simple derivative function of European nationalism.
Shaping of Hindu polity and nationalism in the 20th century