Events & Issues

New Delhi, 18 November 2021

Term ‘Hindutva’

MUCH MISUNDERSTOOD

By DrS.Saraswathi

(Former Director, ICSSR, NEW DELHI)

An unnecessary debate is raging over Hindu, Hinduism, and Hindutva, not among scholars or   Hindu religious leaders, but in political circles, something that cannot happen to any of the world’s religions anywhere. Is it because that practitioners of this religion are so tolerant or innocent as to accept any comments and criticism and start debating it as an academic question?

It is a case of politics intruding into religion and not the other way. The arms of politics, like those of a rakshasa (demon)in Ramayana who confronted Lord Ram,while he waswandering in the forest searching Sita, capable of stretching his arms endlessly and capturing and swallowing anything  in the way.

The controversy started afreshafter the release of a book “Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationhood in our Times”authored by a very senior Congress leader, Salman Kurshid. It is reported in the  media that a lawyer has filed a complaint with the Delhi police against the author for his  remarksthat,“Sanatan Dharma and classical Hinduism known to sages and saints were being pushed aside by a robust version of Hindutva,by all standards a political version similar to the  Jihadist Islam of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram of recent years”. The latter is a terrorist organisation based in Northern Nigeria, which is also active in Northern Cameroon. The similarity suggested has political implications.

Critics receive it as a serious allegation against their religion, but in Indian politics currently going on will not bring about united Hindu reaction. It can onlybe used to polarise voters in Uttar Pradesh, where State Assembly elections are shortly due.The author distinguishes  Hindutva from Hinduism.

The term “Hindutva” is a controversial one ever since it entered into political discourse. All along, Hindus were not worried about its meaning or coverage. They have their beliefs and practices, places and patterns of worship, Gods and deities, and way of life as their religion and  identity. Theydonot bother about names or their connotations.That is how they have been surviving many direct as well as surreptitious attacks on their religion and religious practices for several thousands of years.

It is a futile exercise to go into the origin of the term “Hindutva”. But, we can refer to several   statements of knowledgeable persons as to what it denotes. “India is a Hindu nation, Hindutva its identity”, said RSS chief, Mohan Bhagat, in 2014 while inaugurating the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. He explained that the “cultural identity of all Indians was Hindutva and the present inhabitants of the country were descendants of this great culture”. His point rests on the analogy that if the inhabitants of England are English, Germany are Germans, and the USA are Americans, then all inhabitants of Hindustan are to be known as  Hindus. In the Constitution, our country is called India, that is, Bharat.Its inhabitants are known all over the world as Indians irrespective of their religion.

On 11 December 1995, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court delivered a landmark  judgement in a case challenging the validity of the election of some Shiv Sena-BJP candidates for Maharashtra Legislative Assemblyfor appealing to voters in the name of religion by using Hindutva. The Court held that the term “Hindutva” adopted as a poll plank could not be  construed narrowly to mean an appeal to religion unrelated to the culture and ethos of the people of India. The judgement stated that the term ordinarily meant to denote a way of life and state of mind should not be understood as Hindu fundamentalism.

The Court observed that “Hindutva” was being used and understood as a synonym for Indianisation like the term“panth” used by the Sikhs to mean not the Sikh religion but an entire community. It concluded that Hindutva or  Hinduism means the culture of all the people of India (and not Hindus alone). Thus, the Supreme Court has legalised the usage of the term in elections and clarified its meaning. Indianism, Bharatiya, and Hindutva – all have the same meaning. Hindutva is as patriotic a term as Indian.

Incidentally, it may be said that “ism” is a suffix to the term “Hindu” like “tva” in Sanskrit to denote the nature or essence of something. But, in politics, commonunderstanding matters,and not the semantics of a word.

In 1998, BJP leader and former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, clarified that “India had evolved a common way of life rooted in a shared cultural heritage”. And added that, “It is this common way of life which is unique to India that we call Hindutva or cultural nationalism. You could call by any other name - Indianness or Bharatiyata. But, the core remains the same”. He held that Hindutva, by definition, was an all-inclusive concept and was in perfect harmony with the true meaning of secularism”.

The influence of religion on politics is often condemned as pernicious, but the impact of politics on religion, which is equally condemnable, is overlooked. In the parliamentary democracy in  India where popular election is the method of choosing the government, all institutions including religious become politicised in the sense of reacting and adjusting to political  forces.

Former American President, Jimmy Carter, claimed that the American doctrine of separation  of Church and State prohibited establishment of any religion by the State but not the influence of religious values in public affairs. He believed that religious faith had always helped to shape  American politics.

Present American President, the second Catholic Christian to hold the position, speaks of his faith in “Unity, God, Country” and received communion from Pope. Extent of his religious faith is a matter for debate in US. American Presidents are not shy of expressing their faith in religion.

Spiritual and religious values, indeed, can help to face social crisis and provide a freshvision of politics. In recent times, spirituality based activism can be seen in religion-basedefforts to  promote community organisations, philanthropic, educational, and health activities, and social service for the needy.

The use of religious symbols and sentiments to serve political and not religious ends was  fostered by some moderates and also extremists in freedom struggle. Gandhiji’sRam Rajya was nationalism in a religious garb.  Bharat Mata or Mother India visualised the nation as a Goddess  to kindle the latent love for the nation in common people.Aurobindo portrayed this effectively to instill patriotism. Similar is the purpose of Vande Mataram.

No discussion on Hindutva can be complete without reference to the work of Veer Savarkar entitled “Hindutva: who is a Hindu?” Whether he coined the term or resurrected it to invigorate   national sentiments through cultural unification, the fact remains that it has become a target of attack today by opponents.

Hindutva connotes the cultural, historical and national aspects along with the religious to distinguish the people to whom it applies as a whole.  The term combines a Persian root “Hindu” (equivalent to Sanskrit “Sindhu”) with a Sanskrit suffix “tva” and literally means “Hinduness” or “Hindudom”. Casual usage of the term may better be avoided.---INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)