Hindutva is India’s New Religion
15 March 2024
Published in: The Nation
Religious fundamentalism in any of its peculiar forms leads towards the otherization of religious groups existing alongside, nourishing hatred, and intolerance, and dismantling the existence of these religious groups as illegitimate. India has transformed itself from a slightly secular republic under Indian National Congress (INC) rule to an authoritarian Hindu-fundamentalist state under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). India under Modi has changed its religious principles from Hinduism to Hindutva -an ultra-nationalist political ideology that has otherized major religious groups, particularly Islam and Christianity. This ultra-nationalist political ideology has ghettoized Muslims and other religious minorities. Terms like Hindutva and Hinduism are often used interchangeably by media and experts on India. However, both terms are different in their essence.
Every religion in the world whether it is Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, or Sikhism has promoted tolerance, love, trust, inter-societal harmony, development, and peace. It is the people who often misuse religion for their economic and political interests and promote intolerance and hatred towards other religions. In India, Hinduism, emerged around 3000 BCE as proven by its earliest known texts, the Vedas. Hinduism provides a socio-cultural framework that promulgates societal harmony. On the other side, Hindutva is a political ideology that has emerged in the twentieth century. Interestingly, the target of Hindu fundamentalism was not Muslims, but rather British missionaries who, under the guise of the British East India Company prompted religious conversions. It was the British in the Indian subcontinent after 1857, who demarcated boundaries among different religions and compartmentalized them as different. In fact, Hindu Nationalism was initiated against the British and was directed against the Muslims in the twentieth century by the RSS.
Hinduism is a moderate socio-religious framework that has been existing alongside other religions in the subcontinent. While Hindutva is somehow observed to be fulfilling the interests of the factions including BJP, RSS, and other sub-organizations misuse Hinduism as a tool to achieve their political objectives. The moderate voices have been hushed through social and political pressures. In fact, moderate beliefs of Hinduism are equated as ‘anti-Hinduism’. Amidst the Ram Temple inauguration hype, religious figures including the Shankaracharya – the flag bearer of the Santana Dharma – criticized Modi for using Hindusim for his Hindutva politics. Violence against Muslims and other religious factions has increased multifold under the BJP. Their houses are being bulldozed, in the parliament, there are just five sitting Muslim MPs, and courts are adamant about providing justice to Muslims against Hindu fundamentalists.
Apart from ideological and religious belief systems, the followers of Hinduism and Hindutva look into history through different prisms. Hinduism shares a secular view of Indian history. It considers Muslim rulers as native Indians because of their convergence in society. Even under Emperor Akbar, inter-religious marriage was very common. In the current Hindu fundamentalist dominating India Muslim rulers are portrayed as invaders who have ruined Indian culture. To revive this, the Modi government has been rewriting history by changing textbooks in which Muslim rulers are presented as invaders and savages. The names of places are being changed like Allahabad is now Prayagraj and Faizabad is now Ayodhya. Hindutva-led Indian elite considers Muslims as aliens. Hinduism is a territorial concept that depicts anyone living east of the Indus River as a Hindu, or even in the current scenario, anyone living in India is a Hindu. In Modi’s India, everyone has to fulfil five characteristics – race, language, religion, geography, and culture- to be a Hindu. Anyone not marking up the standards is being treated as an alien. They even question Nehru’s religious belief and loyalty to Hinduism because of his moderate stance towards various Indian minorities. Nathuram Godse, the ultra-nationalist Hindu who killed Gandhi is a respected figure in BJP and RSS alike.
Present India is governed by Hindu fundamentalists. From rewriting historical texts, changing national heroes, targeting Muslims, presenting Muslim rulers as invaders, demonizing Islam and Christianity, reviving the concept of Hindu Rashtra, and presenting Hindi and Hindus as superior to other races, current India is following Hindutva as its new religion, leaving certain contradictions with the teaching of Hinduism itself. And this change does not impact Indian society culturally, but politically as well. India has transformed itself into an authoritarian regime. And this Hindutva discourse is so deeply embedded in Indian society, which would take decades to be deconstructed. BJP seems to come into power for the third time after the upcoming General elections. But even if it does not come, Indian society would take much longer to shift itself to Hinduism again.