The term is being very much bandied about in a very loose way. By people across the spectrum. So, it is necessary to have some clarity. The following is an attempt in that direction.
Hindutva is a political ideology - linking itself to Hinduism, which professes hatred and violence against the (adversial) "other", Muslims, in particular, among others, geared to the final goal of "Hindu Rashtra". Gandhi had popularised the Ramdhun (ref.: < https://truehinduism.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/raghupati-raghav-raja-ram-explained/>), and it used to be sung in public prayer meetings conducted by him. No one charged him of "Hindutva", not even of the "soft" variety. In spite of his call for "Ram Rajya". For that matter, nor a staunch Gandhian, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan's volunteer force, "Khudai Khidmatgar" (Servants of Khuda), was ever deemed an illustration of soft "Islamism". So, affiliation with Hinduism is definitely a necessary but not even remotely sufficient condition for being qualified as "Hindutva". <<The politics of ‘Hindutva’ - a term first coined and popularised by V D Savarkar in 1923, and later identified with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) - an organisation launched in 1925 on the Vijayaa Dashami Day by one Keshav Baliram Hedgewar to champion its cause, has a rather fascinating history. But before trying to plot the trajectory of Hindutva, it is imperative to keep in mind that the project of ’Hindutva’ is, in its essence, one of building up mass mobilisation, geared to the task of forging a new “Hindu” nation-state - out of the extant one through its appropriation and negation, around a core ’majority’, propelled by whipped up feelings of ’insecurity, paranoia, hatred and aggression’ against an array of ’adversarial and menacing others’, both internal and external, by making extensive and manipulative use of real and imaginary, past and contemporary ’history’ of fissures and conflicts. While religion is put to extensive and intensive instrumentalist use in this task of militant, exclusionist, majoritarian mobilisation, elements of (ultra)nationalism are also put to good use by borrowing and (mis)appropriating the idioms and icons of (widely accepted) mainstream (secular) nationalism, particularly (though not exclusively) of its rightwing variety.>> That's, btw, how I had tried to define "Hindutva". Ref.: 'Indian Nationalism, Hindutva and the Bomb' at < http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article10225>. Here's an illustration (from Golwalkar): <<To keep up the purity of the Race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic Races - the Jews. Race pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well nigh impossible it is for Races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by.[47] Ever since that evil day, when Moslems first landed in Hindustan, right up to the present moment, the Hindu Nation has been gallantly fighting on to take on these despoilers. The Race Spirit has been awakening.>> (Ref.: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._S._Golwalkar>.) And, for real time illustrations, one may like to look up: < https://www.facebook.com/Justice4Hindus/>. Sukla N.B.: Any feedback would be highly welcome. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
