Hindutva

Hindutva, which means "Hinduness", is a kind of nationalism in India. 

Origin

Hindutva was made popular by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. Groups that believe in Hindutva include but not limited to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP),The Hindutva Road, Frontline, 4 December 2004 and the Sangh Parivar. Hindutva considers Hinduism better than other religions and cultures. Because of this, some people accuse Hindutva of being a "fascist" idea, while others see Hindutva as conservative.

Reception

Christophe Jaffrelot

As per Christophe Jaffrelot, a political scientist specializing in South Asia, the Hindutva ideology has roots in an era where the fiction in ancient Indian mythology and the Vedics  was thought to be valid. This fiction was used to "give sustenance to Hindu ethnic consciousness". Its strategy emulated the Muslim identity politics of the Khilafat movement after World War I, and borrowed political concepts from the West – mainly Germany.Jaffrelot, Christophe 2009. Hindu Nationalism: a reader. Princeton University Press. pp. 14–15, 86–93. ISBN 1-4008-2803-1

Anthony Parel

As per Anthony Parel, a historian and political scientist, V. D. Savarkar's Hindutva, Who is a Hindu? (1923) is a fundamental text of Hindutva ideology. He comments on Savarkar's summary of Hindu culture "as a self-sufficient culture, not needing any input from other cultures" by saying that this is "an unhistorical, narcissistic and false account of India's past".

Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad

Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad, a fellow of the British Academy and a scholar of Politics and Philosophy of Religion, says that Hindutva is a form of nationalism that is seen differently by its opponents and its supporters. The Hindutva ideology according to Savarkar, states Ram-Prasad, is based on  "geography, race, and culture".Ram‐Prasad, C. (1993). "Hindutva ideology: Extracting the fundamentals". Contemporary South Asia. 2 (3): 285–309.

 References 

Category:Nationalism
Category:Hinduism