Hindutva

{{bronze}}
[[File:V. D. Savarkar.jpg|thumb|right|165px|V.D. Savarkar, who developed Hindutva ideology in 1922.]]
{{IndianPolitics}}
{{cquote|The danger to India, mark you, is not communism. It is Hindu right-wing communalism.|||Jawarlal Nehru, the (mis)fortune teller, shortly before his death.<ref>https://thewire.in/communalism/the-babri-masjid-demolition-inalterably-changed-the-trajectory-of-indias-history</ref>}}
{{cquote|Every fascist regime needs communities and groups it can demonize in order to thrive. It starts with one group or two. But it never ends there. A movement built on hate can only sustain itself by continually creating fear and strife. {{wpl|First they came...|Those of us today who feel secure because we are not Muslims or Christians are living in a fool's paradise.}} They are already targeting the ‘Leftists’ and the ‘Westernized’ youth. Tomorrow it will turn its hate on women who wear skirts, people who eat meat, drink liquor, watch foreign films, don't go on monthly pilgrimages to temples, use toothpaste instead of dant manjan, prefer allopathic doctors to vaids, kiss or shake hands in greeting instead of shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’. No one is safe.|||Khushwant Singh, ''The End of India'', 2003{{efn|11 years before [[Narendra Modi]] was elected as the prime minister of India.}}}}
'''Hindutva''' (literally translated: "Hinduness")<ref group=note>[[Sanskrit]] ''-tva'' is a neuter abstract suffix, hence Hindu-''ness'' in English.</ref> is a [[majoritarian]]<ref> https://scroll.in/article/916406/how-hindu-nationalists-built-on-the-roots-of-majoritarianism-in-india-and-normalised-public-violence </ref><ref> https://anthropology.stanford.edu/publications/book/majoritarian-state-how-hindu-nationalism-changing-india </ref> [[political]] [[ideology]] and [[far-right]] [[fascist]] [[Ethnocracy|ethnonationalist]] movement. Basically, a melding of [[Hindu]] [[Fundamentalism]]<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/fundamentalism/Sikh-fundamentalism#ref252670 Hindu Fundamentalism], <i>Encyclopedia Britannica</i></ref> and Hindu [[Fascism]]<ref>“[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindutva#:~:text=After,fascism After the 1940s and 1950s, a number of scholars have labelled or compared Hindutva to fascism.]” (from [[Wikipedia]], check citations)</ref> and forms the basis of the Hindu nationalist movement in [[India]] as a political form{{efn|Hindutva was mainstreamed into Indian politics with [[Narendra Modi]]'s election as Prime Minister in 2014.<ref name=eviane>{{cite journal |last=Leidig |first=Eviane |title=[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0031322X.2020.1759861 Hindutva as a variant of right-wing extremism]|journal=Patterns of Prejudice |volume=54 |number=3|year=2020 |pp=215-237}}</ref>}} of [[militant]] nationalism that aims to eliminate the [[secular]] foundation of India's constitutional democracy<ref>[https://theprint.in/opinion/hinduism-vs-hindutva-debate-ignores-hindu-people-puts-religion-where-it-doesnt-exist/348038/ Hinduism vs Hindutva debate ignores Hindu people, puts religion where it doesn’t exist] by Yaajnaseni (11 January, 2020 1:29 pm IST) ThePrint</ref> and turn India into a Hindu State (“Hindu Rashtra”) also referred to as “Rama’s Realm” (“Ram Rajya”).<ref name=robert>{{cite journal |last=E. Frykenberg |first=Robert |title= [https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230241633_10 Hindutva as a Political Religion: An Historical Perspective]|journal= The Sacred in Twentieth-Century Politics |page= pp 178-220|year=2008}} ([https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304634937_Hindutva_as_a_Political_Religion_An_Historical_Perspective See full text])</ref><ref name=imsu>[https://www.academia.edu/30976749/Hindutva_the_ideology_the_impact_and_the_implications Hindutva the ideology the impact and the implications], Academic paper by Imsu Jinger (Free full text)</ref>

In [[India]], an umbrella organization called the Sangh Parivar champions the ideology of Hindutva. The Sangh comprises organizations such as the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS), the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), and others.
<!-- The term was coined by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a {{wpl|Brahmin}} in his 1923 pamphlet entitled ''Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?'' {{efn|A key difference in the “Hindutva” Savarkar advocated and the one popularised in modern India is that Savarkar defined being a “Hindu” as simply considering anyone who considered India as their motherland, which includes [[Muslims]] and other minorities.<ref>[https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/veer-savarkar-hindutva-india/38073/ Veer Savarkar: The man credited with creating Hindutva didn’t want it restricted to Hindus] by Shashi Tharoor (26 February, 2018 4:55 pm IST) ThePrint</ref><ref>[https://scroll.in/article/939737/savarkar-had-many-faces-but-hindutva-has-only-one Savarkar had many faces – but Hindutva has only one] by Krzysztof Iwanek (Oct 13, 2019 · 06:30 am) Scroll.in</ref> Basically, it was simply good ol’ [[nationalism]], whereas the modern Hindu <i>Fascist</i> movement defines being “Hindu” as being a [[Hinduism]] [[fundamentalist]].<br/>{{cquote| For Savarkar, Hinduness was synonymous with Indianness, properly understood. Savarkar’s idea of Hindutva was so expansive that it covered everything that a scholar today would call ‘Indic’: ‘Hindutva is not a word but a history. Not only the spiritual or religious history of our people as at times it is mistaken to be by being confounded with the other cognate term Hinduism, but a history in full… Hindutva embraces all the departments of thought and activity of the whole Being of our Hindu race.}}}} As per Savarkar, who defined Hindutva or Hinduness as an ethnic and political identity, a Hindu is a person whose ancestors lived in a land he called {{wpl|Akhand Bharat}} or Greater India (literally translated into English as Undivided India, which consists of India, [[Pakistan]], and [[Bangladesh]]). To him, it was the land where their religion originated. Here religion means all religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent, i.e. [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], [[Jainism]], and [[Sikhism]]. -->

From its very inception in 1923, its promoters have often resorted to [[cherry-picking]]<ref>[https://www.firstpost.com/politics/cherry-picking-only-hindu-icons-bjps-cultural-nationalism-threatens-idea-of-pluralistic-india-2250298.html Cherry-picking only Hindu icons: BJP’s cultural nationalism threatens idea of pluralistic India], by G Pramod Kumar (May 18, 2015 18:45:06 IST) Firstpost</ref> events, evidence, and the meanings drawn from the interpretations of the facts to spread its message through [[historical revisionism]];<ref name=rewriting>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190517091350/https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/india-modi-culture/ By rewriting history, Hindu nationalists aim to assert their dominance over India] by Rupam Jain and Tom Lasseter (March 6, 2018, 11 a.m. GMT) Reuters</ref><ref name=iwan>Iwanek, Krzysztof. (2015). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289887052_The_Textbook_of_Chanakya's_Pupils_Vidya_Bharati_and_Its_Gauravsali_Bharat_Textbook_in_Uttarakhand The Textbook of Chanakya's Pupils. Vidya Bharati and Its Gauravsali Bharat Textbook in Uttarakhand]. Archiv orientální. 83. 255-+.</ref> extra-constitutional violence, whether to mobilise mass agitations<ref name=Jaffrelot> https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/1372 </ref> or to silence dissent through [[lynch mob|mob lynching]];<ref>{{cite journal |last=Baber |first=Zaheer |title= [https://www.jstor.org/stable/29790624 Religious Nationalism, Violence and the Hindutva Movement in India]|journal= Dialectical Anthropology |volume=25 |number= 1|year=March 2000|page= pp 61-76}} ([https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225965028_Religious_Nationalism_Violence_and_the_Hindutva_Movement_in_India Request full access and see citations])</ref><ref name=singh>{{cite journal |last=Singh |first=Ujjwal Kumar |title= [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336435460_Law_state_and_right-wing_extremism_in_India Law, state and right-wing extremism in India]|journal= Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism |volume=14 |number= 3|year=2019}}</ref> or encouraging [[doublethink]] to justify contradictory statements.<ref name=robert/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Banerjee |first=Sumanta |title= [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4397215 'Hindutva': Ideology and Social Psychology]|journal= Economic and Political Weekly |volume=26|number= 3|year=Jan 19, 1991|page=97-101}}</ref><ref>[https://thewire.in/politics/bjps-response-dalit-protests-emphasises-contradictions-in-its-hindutva-ideology The BJP's Response to Dalit Protests Only Emphasises Contradictions in Its Hindutva Ideology], (02/AUG/2016) The Wire India</ref>

The Hindu nationalist movement, though primarily concentrated in [[India]], has global presence and a section of the Indian diaspora living in the [[Europe]] and [[North America]] fund Hindutva groups in those countries, as well as in India.

==What it is==
[[File:Narendra Modi in RSS uniform.jpeg|right|235px|thumb|[[Narendra Modi]] in [[RSS]]'s [[Nazi]]-inspired uniform.]]
{{hatnote|{{wpa|Hindutva#Definitions}}}}
In popular writings on the subject, Hindutva has been variously described as “Hinduism on steroids,” as “Hinduism which resists", or as “an illegitimate child of Hinduism.”<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Arvind |title= [https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/on-the-difference-between-hinduism-and-hindutva/ On the Difference Between Hinduism and Hindutva]|journal= Education About Asia |volume=25 |number=1 |year=Spring 2020}}</ref>

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the founder of Hindutva, an admirer of [[Mussolini]]'s [[Italian]] [[fascism]] and [[Hitler]]'s [[Nazism]], on [[Nazism]] and [[fascism]], states:

{{cquote|Surely Hitler knows better than Pandit Nehru [refers to {{wpl|Jawaharlal Nehru||,}} the first prime minister of India] does what suits [[Germany]] best. The very fact that Germany or [[Italy]] has so wonderfully recovered and grown so powerful as never before at the touch of Nazi or Fascist magical wand is enough to prove that those political ‘isms’ were the most congenial tonics their health demanded.<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.com/hindu-nationalists-historical-links-nazism-fascism-214222 Hindu Nationalist’s Historical Links to Nazism and Fascism] by Palash Ghosh (03/06/12 AT 3:27 PM) International Business Times</ref>|||Savarkar}}

Savarkar also said that Hitler was not a human monster because he was a Nazi. "Nazism proved undeniably the saviour of Germany."<ref>"Rethinking Secularism in India in the Age of Triumphant Fascism" by Murzban Jal (2016) ''Critique'' 43(3–4):523–524.</ref> Furthermore, Savarkar criticised [[Jews]] for "failing to absorb into the German national fabric" (i.e., convert their religion) and compared them to Muslims in India (who should do the same)<ref>[https://indianexpress.com/article/research/vinayak-damodar-savarkar-135th-birth-anniversary-he-admired-hitler-and-other-lesser-known-facts-about-him-5194470/ Vinayak Damodar Savarkar: He admired Hitler and other lesser-known facts about him: He widely read Indian and world history and wrote aggressively on the oppressive British rule in India, his admiration for fascism and his views on Judaists, Christians and Muslims] by Adrija Roychowdhury (Updated: May 28, 2018 5:29:13 pm) ''The Indian Express''.</ref> saying “A Nation is formed by a majority living therein. What did the Jews do in Germany? They being in minority were driven out from Germany.” “If we Hindus grow stronger, Muslim friends... will have to play the part of German Jews.” Even though he held such views, he still supported the establishment of the Judaic State of Israel, as it was not only in accordance to his theory of nationalism, but also as a "bulwark against Islamization,"<ref> Basu S., Das S. (2005) Knowledge for Politics: Partisan Histories and Communal Mobilization in India and Pakistan. In: Partisan Histories. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-09150-5_7</ref> which totally doesn’t exist in Israel.

Hindu nationalist groups in Bharat / India like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were inspired not by Hindu teachings, but by Nazi Germany and Mussolini’s fascists in Italy.

This explains how Hindutva's slogan of “One Nation! One Culture! One Religion! One Language!"<ref>[https://theprint.in/opinion/savarkar-wanted-one-god-one-nation-one-goal-modi-has-fulfilled-his-dream-with-kashmir-move/273447/ Savarkar wanted one nation, one goal. Modi has fulfilled his dream with Kashmir move] by Vikram Sampath (7 August, 2019 12:46 pm IST) <i>The Print</i></ref><ref>[https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2014/10/indian-secularism-plurality-under-bjp/ How The Idea Of ‘One Religion, One Language, And One Culture’ Is Damaging Indian Secularism] by Ananya Barua in Politics (30th October, 2014) <i>YKA</i> (Youth Ki Awaaz ((in eng.) Voice of the youth))</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/one-nation-one-language-why-is-amit-shah-inviting-trouble/cid/1705428 One nation, one language: Why is Amit Shah inviting trouble?] by Editorial Board, <i>Telegraph</i></ref> sounds uncannily similar to the [[Nazi]] slogan of “Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Führer!”...<ref>{{wpa|Führer#Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer}}</ref> [[Italian]] [[Fascism]], [[German]] Nazism, and Hindutvan [[Fundamentalism]] all came around the same time in the 1920s... Crowds marching under fascist and swastika banners, black, brown shirts and khaki shorts, saffron flags, black hats and tridents, with clenched fist salutes... and even acknowledging the Aryan, Nordic and Roman gods of racial solidarity, all seem eerily similar.

The three essentials of Hindutva ideology are common nation (''rashtra'' in Hindi), common race (''jati'' in Hindi) and common culture/civilisation (''sanskriti'' in Hindi). <ref name=Sharma>{{cite journal |last=Sharma |first=Arvind |title=On Hindu, Hindustan, Hinduism and Hindutva |journal=Numen |volume=49 |number=1 |year=2002 |pp=1–36}}</ref> So Hindutva is similar to ideologies like pan-Islamism and is antithetical to [[multiculturalism]] and [[secularism]] including instances of [[atheism]]. Several academics have described Hindutva as a [[far right]] ideology.<ref name="Black Solomos">Les Back and John Solomos (2000), ''Theories of Race and Racism: A Reader'', p.591, ISBN 9780415156714. "It is important to note the marriage between far-right-wing Hindutva ideology and western New Ageism in the works of writers like David Frawley (1994, 1995a, 1995b) who is both a key apologist for the Hindutva movement and the author of various New Age books on Vedic astrology, oracles and yoga."</ref><ref name=singh/><ref name=eviane/><ref name=imsu/>

The word “Hindutva” wasn’t even used in Ancient Hindu scriptures such as the four Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Puranas, nor in the Buddhist scriptures or anywhere else. The various traditions used their philosophical and spiritual practices — such as Vaishnavs, Shakta, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Advaita etc. — to identify themselves. But no one called themselves Hindus. Even {{wpl|Adi Shankara||,}} credited to have revived "Hinduism", didn't have the word "Hindu" in his vernacular.

This was, until 1923 when it was first mentioned in V.D. Savarkar’s book, Hindutva, which “articulates criteria for Indian identity based on citizenship, common ancestry, common culture and regard for [[India]] as fatherland (pitrbhu) and sacred land (puṇyabhu).” For Savarkar, [[Jews]], [[Christians]] and [[Muslims]] could never be true [[India]]ns or [[Hindu]], despite the presence of all three religions in India for centuries.{{efn|Savarkar argued that they {{cquote|...cannot be recognized as Hindus; as since their adoption of the new cult they had ceased to own Hindu civilisation [Sanskriti] as a whole. They belong, or feel that they belong to, a cultural unit altogether different from the Hindu one. Their heroes and their hero-worship, their fairs and their festivals, their ideals and their outlook on-life, have now ceased to be common with ours...}}}} Savarkar in his book Essentials of Hindutva had also quoted "A Hindu marrying a Hindu may lose his caste but not his Hindutva." Athough the subject regarding intercaste marriages has different viewership across the broad spectrum of Hindutva following sect.

There are contradictory statements and views among people associated with the Bharatiya Nationalist movement regarding the question of [[irreligion]] and [[atheism]]. Y. Sudershan Rao, who was appointed the head of the {{wpl|Indian Council of Historical Research}} (ICHR) after the Hindu nationalist [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) formed government in 2014, tries to explain the meaning of "Hindoo/Hindu/Indo-" arguing, "Hindoo, that is, 'Hindū / Hindu / Indo' in ancient times was a name of the People of {{wpl|Indus}}, PAKISTAN.. Hindus could be and were Polytheist, Monotheist, Atheist, Pantheist, Egotheist, Astrologist and vice versa. As a historian, I look at it that way."<ref>[http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-11-17/news/56174738_1_ramayana-history-indian-council Ramayan, Mahabharat historical sources, West dubs them myth: Y Sudershan Rao] ''Economic Times''</ref> This argument includes irreligious people as "Hindoo / Hindū / Hindu / Indo...", if 'Hindoo', that is, 'Hindū / Hindu / Indo' is an ethnic identity. On the other hand, the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] (RSS), the largest Bharatiya nationalist organization in India, constructs the idea of an "ideal Hindu family." According to a leader of the organization, "We also want people to see to it that their households look like proper Hindu homes: a tulsi plant, images of Hindu gods, the {{wpl|gayatri mantra||,}} etc. should ideally be physically there."<ref>[http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rss-focuses-on-hindu-family-values-to-unify-community/article1-1333732.aspx RSS focuses on Hindu family values to unify community] ''Hindustan Times''</ref> This idea of an "ideal Hindu family" excludes atheists and other religions like [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]] contradicting the view that irreligion comes within Hindutva's fold.

==What it is not==
[[File:AntiHindutva.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Similar to how Zionists conflate anti-Zionism with [[antisemitism]], Hindutva advocates allege accusations of Hinduphobia against any criticism.]]

==="Hindutva unites Hindus"===
Hindu Fundamentalism is synonymous with casteism and untouchability, with many Hindutva leaders such as Golwalkar{{efn|{{cquote|The Virat Purusha, the Almighty manifesting himself… Brahmin is the head, Kshatriya the hands, Vaishya the thighs and Shudra the feet. This means that the people who have this fourfold arrangement, i.e., the Hindu People, is [sic] our God. This supreme vision of Godhead is the very core of our concept of ‘nation’ and has permeated our thinking and given rise to various unique concepts of our cultural heritage.<ref name=gol>[https://www.counterview.net/2021/02/golwalkars-views-on-tricolour-martyrs.html Golwalkar's views on tricolour, martyrs, minorities, caste as per RSS archives]</ref>}}}} justifying it
and demanding the misogynist and casteist {{wpl|Manusmriti}} (the Ancient Hindu code of law) to replace the democratic Indian constitution.<ref name=RSSconstitution>{{wpa|Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_Sangh#Opposition_to_the_Constitution_of_India}}</ref><ref name=gol/>

Even though Savarkar, the creator of Hindutva, was against caste, for the purpose of unifying the Hindu community against the Muslims, ever since the installation of Hindutva parties such as BJP in the Indian states, rates of violence against Dalits (lowest caste)- including rapes of Dalit women- have been at an all time high.<ref>https://www.firstpost.com/india/atrocities-on-dalits-and-tribals-up-by-70-in-gujarat-between-2003-and-2018-conviction-rate-below-5-in-modis-first-3-yrs-as-pm-6551441.html</ref>

==="Hindutva unites Indians"===
Hindu Fascist groups have instigated mob violence throughout their history among minorities such as Christians and Muslims etc. who have stayed in India for several centuries along with Hinduism. Hindutva aims to eliminate the secular and democratic foundations of the country. The leaders of the ideology were once opposed to both the flag of India (and refuse to use it)<ref>{{wpa|Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_Sangh#Opposition_to_the_National_Flag_of_India}}</ref> and its constitution.<ref name=RSSconstitution/> RSS have started to hoist the national flag since 2002.<ref>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/tri-colour-hoisted-at-rss-hq-after-52-yrs/articleshow/1561733136.cms</ref> 

If Hindutva was really about uniting Indians and teaching them their own culture, then why does it have to relate it to religion? Why does the term Hindu have to be enforced on anyone living in the Indian subcontinent? What is the need to rebrand [[patriotism]] with the face of religion slapped to it?<ref>[https://theprint.in/talk-point/mohan-bhagwat-right-in-saying-that-only-united-hindus-can-save-india/38308/ TalkPoint: Is Mohan Bhagwat right in saying that only united Hindus can save India?] <i>ThePrint</i> (27 February, 2018 1:25 pm IST)</ref>

==="Hindutva stops Westernisation"===
Hindu nationalists spend a good amount of time criticising "Western concepts" like [[feminism]], [[LGBTQ]] etc., however the criticism is just virtue signalling; the hate for such concepts does not come from nationalism, but rather, hatred for anything that contradicts Hindutva's backward ideology. Of course, subsidies and tax breaks and even labour law exceptions are given wholesale to foreign MNCs that come to India to exploit Indian lower caste workers who work in sweatshops, because they were not the Hindus Hindutva sought to protect.{{cn}}

==Hindutva in practice==
[[file:RssTerorrist.jpg|right|275px|thumb|At least we don’t behead… Oh wait, [https://www.siasat.com/karnataka-muslim-boy-beheaded-in-belgavi-over-alleged-love-affair-with-hindu-girl-2200737/ we do!]]]
{{cquote|You were made to hate Muslims. Then Christians. Then Dalits. Then Sikhs. Labourers. Writers. Thinkers. Economists. Actors. Awardees. Social Workers. Kashmiris. Malayalis. NE Indians. Even farmers now. When will you realise You've been made to hate India?|||Arif Malik}}
Hindutva advocates are accused of suppressing [[freedom of speech]] and {{wpl|freedom of expression}} by banning [[books]], [[films]], and other cultural [[media]] which they don't like,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ananya |first=Vajpeyi |title= [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24483313 The Triumph of the Hindu Right: Freedom of Speech and Religious Repression in Modi's India.]|journal=Foreign Affairs |volume=93 |number=5 |page= pp.150–156 |year=2014}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/02/in-the-land-of-storytelling-netflix-and-amazon-prime-reshape-indias-creative-landscape In the ‘land of storytelling’, Netflix and Amazon Prime reshape India’s creative landscape] <i>[[The Guardian]]</i></ref> rejecting the idea of {{wpl|freedom of choice||,}} and instigating [[Extrajudicial punishment|mob violence]].<ref name=Jaffrelot/><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/librandu/comments/kwrk5c/hypocrisy_lying_cheating_and_adharma_to_achieve/</ref> In order to gather such a mob, they claim that “[[Persecution complex|Hindoo khatre me hain]]” (Hindus are in danger) from [[Muslim]]s and [[Christian]]s to label their hateful ideology as “[[Hinduism]]’s Survival Guide To [[Abrahamic]] [[Imperialism]].”<ref>No, really. As [https://swarajyamag.com/politics/hindutva-as-hinduisms-survival-guide-an-antidote-to-abrahamic-imperialism this] unironically demonstrates ({{wpl|Swaraja}} is a far-right magazine with a history of spreading [[fake news]]).</ref>

===[[Genocide]]===
MS Golwalkar (1903-1973), the second leader of the RSS, praised Nazi Germany’s racial policies and insisted on their use on Indian Muslims as well- ''all '''20 crore''' of them''.<ref>See the [[RationalWiki]] article on [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh#Golwalker|Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh § Golwalker]].</ref>

In 2015, the vice-president of the Hindutva organization All India Hindu Assembly ({{wpl|Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha}} (ABHM) in Hindi), Sadhvi Deva Thakur, said that the population growth of Muslims and Christians in India need to be controlled [[Genocide#Official definition|by forcibly sterilizing them]].<ref name="Deva Thakur">[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/sadhvi-deva-thakur-muslims-christians-forcibly-sterilised/1/429727.html Muslims, Christians should be forcibly sterilised: Sadhvi Deva Thakur], India Today</ref><ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2015/04/11/sadhvi-deva-thakur-sterilisation_n_7048266.html Hindu Mahasabha Leader Sadhvi Deva Thakur Says Muslims, Christians Should Be Forcibly Sterilised], Huffington Post India</ref>

{{cquote|The population of Muslims and Christians is growing day by day. To rein in this, {{wpl|Government of India|Centre}} will have to impose {{wpl|State of Emergency in India|emergency}} and Muslims and Christians will have to be forced to undergo sterilisation so that they can't increase their numbers.|||Sadhvi Deva Thakur<ref name="Deva Thakur"/>}}

BJP and RSS leader Rajeshwar Singh, openly boasting of his government's intent to “ethnically cleanse 200 million Muslims and 28 million Christians,” in 2014, said:<ref> https://sabrangindia.in/article/muslims-and-christians-will-be-wiped-out-india-december-31-2021-bjp-leader-rajeshwar-singh</ref><ref>https://www.boomlive.in/rss-leaders-controversial-remark-about-minorities-in-2014-revived/</ref>

{{cquote|Wait and watch... Muslims and Christians will be wiped out of India by December 31, 2021... This is our pledge.}}

{{cquote|We will cleanse our Hindu society. We will not let the conspiracy of church or mosque succeed in Bharat… The Hindu wave has just begun. In 10 years we will convert all Christians and Muslims.|||Rajeshwar Singh, RSS member<ref>https://www.reuters.com/article/india-religion-modi-idINKBN0GZ2OC20140904</ref>}}

===[[Eugenics]]===
[[File:Hindutva Nazi propaganda.jpg|165px|right|thumb|When you can’t come up with anything and have to resort to copying literal Nazi propaganda.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20211204161052/https://twitter.com/kadhiichaawal</ref> Note the [[Indian alt-right glossary#Akhand Bharat|Akhand Bharat]] and [[Swastika]] imagery in the background.]]
In 2015, Sadhvi Deva Thakur also urged Hindus to have more children to increase their population.<ref name="Deva Thakur"/> BJP MP (member of parliament) Sakshi Maharaj said that every Hindu woman must have four children.<ref name="4 kids">[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Every-Hindu-woman-must-produce-at-least-4-kids-Sakshi-Maharaj/articleshow/45782862.cms Every Hindu woman must produce at least 4 kids: Sakshi Maharaj] Times of India</ref><ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30706431 India MP Sakshi Maharaj: Hindus must have more babies] BBC</ref>
{{cquote|The time has come when a Hindu woman must produce at least four children in order to protect Hindu religion.|||Sakshi Maharaj, BJP MP}}

After this remark, another BJP politician suggested that Hindu women should have five children.<ref name="5 children">[http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/after-sakshi-maharajs-4-kids-remark-a-bjp-leader-now-asks-hindu-women-to-bear-five-children/ After Sakshi Maharaj’s ‘4 kids’ remark, a BJP leader now asks Hindu women to bear five children] Indian Express</ref>
{{cquote|I want to tell my Hindu mothers and sisters that if they don’t have five children, there will be no equilibrium in India in future. Don’t misunderstand me. To protect Hinduism and Sanatan Dharma, it is necessary for all Hindus to give birth to five children.}}

Mohan Bhagat, the current head of the RSS,<ref>{{wpa|List of Sarsanghchalaks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh}}</ref> when addressing the “declining Hindu population,” stated:<ref>https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/which-law-says-population-of-hindus-should-not-rise-asks-rss-chief-mohan-bhagwat-2988836/</ref>
{{cquote|Which law says that the population of Hindus’ should not rise? What is stopping them when population of others’ is rising. The issue is not related to the system. It is because the social environment is like this.|||Mohan Bhagat}}

====[[Racism]]====
{{cquote|[[Ayurveda]] has all the details about how we can get the desired physical and mental qualities of babies. [[IQ]] is developed during the sixth month of pregnancy. If the mother undergoes specific procedures, like what to eat, listen and read, the desired IQ can be achieved. Thus, we can get a desired, customised baby.|||Karishma Mohandas Narwani, national convener of the project.<ref>[https://qz.com/india/979007/rss-hindu-nationalists-are-trying-to-create-designer-babies-that-are-fair-strong-and-smart/ Hindu nationalists are trying to create designer babies that are fair, strong, and smart], by Maria Thomas (May 9, 2017) ''Quartz''</ref>}}
{{cquote|To keep up the purity of the nation and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of Semitic races – the Jews. National 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.|||Madhav Golwalkar, the second chief of the RSS<ref>[https://scroll.in/article/836880/rss-grand-plan-to-help-couples-bear-fair-tall-bespoke-babies-exposes-hindutvas-problem-with-race RSS’ grand plan to help Indians bear fair, bespoke babies exposes Hindutva’s obsession with race] by Shoaib Daniyal (May 08, 2017 08:00 am) <i>Scroll</i></ref>}}
In May 2017, RSS’s health wing<ref>[https://www.altnews.in/link-arogya-bharati-promises-genius-babies-rashtriya-swayamsevak-sangh-rss-opindia-couldnt-find/ The link between Arogya Bharati, that promises genius babies, and the RSS that OpIndia couldn’t find] by Pratik Sinha (9th May, 2017 10:11 PM) <i>AltNews</i></ref> <i>Arogya Bharati</i> announced their grand plan titled "Garbh Vigyan Sanskar" (lit. Science & Culture of the Womb) to make India great again, using [[Nazi]] [[eugenics]] and their concept of [[race]]. The plan includes giving prescription to those babies of the "intended parents" (ie. Hinduism fundamentalist parents, rich, backing the project) and 
brainwashing
 "[[Bullshit|purifying]]" (<i>shuddhikaran</i>) for 3 months. These "ubermenschen" über-babies (<i>uttam santati</i>) are purported to be smarter, taller, and fairer. If you are having [[WW2]] and [[Nazism]] flashbacks already, don't worry, because RSS says that the origin of this science lay in the {{wpl|Mahabharata}} (a Hindu scripture), which is where the Germans stole it from. Varshney says the project was inspired by the advice a senior RSS officer received many years ago in [[Nazi Germany]].
{{cquote|He was told that it was due to a woman called ‘Mother of Germany’. When he met her and asked about this resurrection, she told him, ‘you have come from India, have you not heard of Abhimanyu (the son of Arjuna in the epic Mahabharata)?’ She told him that the new generation in Germany was born through Garbh Sanskar and that is why the country is so developed|||Ashok Kumar Varshney, RSS pracharak for over 30 years and national organising secretary of <i>Arogya Bharati</i><ref name=bhardwaj>[https://indianexpress.com/article/india/rss-wing-has-prescription-for-fair-tall-customised-babies-4644280/ RSS wing has prescription for fair, tall ‘customised’ babies] by Ashutosh Bhardwaj (May 7, 2017) <i>The Indian Express</i></ref>}}
The project is conducted in two parts; before and after pregnancy. Jani, a veteran RSS swayamsevak, states: “The first part involves <i>nadi shuddhi</i> (purification of energy channels) and <i>deh shuddhi</i> (purification of body) for 90 days. During this period, we purify the male’s sperm and the female’s egg. The new egg and sperm thus developed will not have genetic defects,” After the baby is delivered, a proper diet of milk and <i>ghee</i> is administered. Furthermore, “If the mother chants shlokas and mantras, it helps in the mental growth of the baby… if she leads such a life, there will be no labour pain and the baby will gain up to 300g more weight.”<ref name=bhardwaj/>

==Manipulating public education==
Hindu nationalists have heavily invested in rewriting Indian history to advance their political agenda.<ref>[https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/6636 Hindutva’s Dangerous Rewriting of History]
</ref><ref name=rewriting/><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190517072836/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/17/opinion/india-elections-modi-history.html They Peddle Myths and Call It History], ''New York Times''</ref><ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/librandu/comments/jmk9gb/the_absolute_state_of_indian_youth_and_education/ The absolute state of Indian youth and education] ''Reddit''</ref> These efforts had first begun in 1999 when BJP governed India between 1999 and 2004. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, this usually takes the form of deleting chapters inconvenient to their narrative,<ref>[https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/news/story/ncert-is-removing-caste-conflict-chapters-from-class-9-history-textbooks-1481496-2019-03-19 NCERT is removing caste conflict chapters from class 9 History textbooks for HRD Ministry exercise]</ref><ref>https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/karnataka-govt-omits-part-class-6-textbook-after-brahmin-board-objects-143831</ref> and adding their own [[pseudohistory]] mixing Hinduism myths and facts.<ref name=iwan/>

The main rhetoric followed by the ruling body of Hindutva advocacy, RSS, is to help people rediscover the greatness of ancient India and re-imagine a golden age before it was "contaminated" by "foreign" invasions (ie. all other religions except of course Hinduism). It is common for RSS 
slaves
 unpaid workers and supporters to describe ancient India as a "golden bird" where they invented every fucking thing in the universe but the "foreigners" stole it from them. That is why they need to recreate this prehistoric perfect age where the Hindus did everything right – where there were no Muslims or Christians or Sikhs or Parsis at the time who coexisted peacefully – and everything we ever invented was from the ancient "[[pseudoscience|science]]" of [[Ayurveda]].

The education wing of the [[RSS]], {{wpl|Vidya Bharati|Vidya Bharti Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sansthan|,}} is the largest private network of schools in India, running more than 24 thousand schools across India with more than 3.4 million students and 15 thousand teachers. Most of these are even affiliated to the {{wpl|Central Board of School Education||,}} the central national board for schools in India.<ref>https://vidyabharti.net/index.php/informal-education-units-11-353</ref> Through the BJP party currently in power, this extremist right-wing organisation has taken the control over many of the country’s policies. Now, it has started using public education as a political tool for brainwashing.
===Shiksha Bachao Andolan===
Hindutva writer {{wpl|Dinanath Batra||,}} former general secretary of Vidya Bharati, founded an organization [[Euphemism|euphemistically]] named {{wpl|Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas|Shiksha Bachao Andolan}}<ref>[https://deshkosh.org/S/Shiksha_Bachao_Andolan_Samiti.html Shiksha Bachao Andolan Samiti], Desh Kosh entry</ref> (Save Education Movement),{{efn|''Shiksha'' (Hindi) means education, ''Bachao'' (Hindi) means save, ''Andolan'' (Hindi) means movement}} believes religious education should be an integral part of school curriculum.<ref name="Post Gahlot">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/indias-new-school-textbooks-favor-hindu-nationalist-themes-making-minorities-uneasy/2015/03/19/30b5dad6-ce4a-11e4-8730-4f473416e759_story.html India’s new school textbooks favor Hindu nationalist themes, making minorities uneasy] ''[[Washington Post]]''</ref>

{{cquote|What we need in India is [[Traditional values|value-based education, education that will build character]]. We can’t do that without religion,{{efn|See the [[RationalWiki]] page on [[Humanism]].}} so [[Theology|religious studies]]<ref group=note>By using the term "religious studies", he does not refer to the secular academic discipline [[religious studies]] which analyzes religion from a non-religious point of view. He refers to [[theology]] when he uses the term.</ref> must become a part of school curriculum.|||Dinanath Batra<ref name="Post Gahlot"/>}}

Batra has written some school textbooks which are taught in the Indian state of {{wpl|Gujarat}} and Uttarakhand, where the Hindu nationalist BJP forms government.<ref name=iwan/> On 30th June, 2014, his books were made part of the school curriculum by the Gujrat government in more than 42000 Primary and Secondary government schools in Gujarat.<ref name=NewslaundryKartik>https://www.newslaundry.com/2014/07/28/to-students-with-love</ref> If one explores these in depth, what is written in his books are bound to give laughs as well as shock to any educated sane person. An example of blatant [[racism]] and horrible misinformation is given below:<ref name="Quartz Gujarat">[http://qz.com/241048/what-gujarat-govt-is-encouraging-school-children-to-read-is-dismaying/ What the government of Gujarat is encouraging children to read is dismaying] ''Quartz''</ref><ref name="Telegraph Batra">[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10995944/Top-Indian-educationalist-accused-of-racism-over-portrayal-of-criminal-negroes.html Top Indian educationalist accused of racism over portrayal of criminal 'negroes'] ''The Telegraph''</ref>

{{cquote|Once {{wpl|Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan|Dr Radhakrishnan}} [first vice-president of India] went for a dinner. There was a Briton at the event who said, "We are very dear to God." Radhakrishnan laughed and told the gathering, "Friends, one day God felt like making {{wpl|Roti|rotis}} [Flat bread made from wholemeal flour and consumed in the Indian subcontinent] When he was cooking the rotis, the first one was cooked less and the English were born. The second one stayed longer on the fire and the {{wpl|Negro|Negroes}} were born. Alert after His first two mistakes, when God went on to cook the third roti, it came out just right and as a result {{wpl|Indian people|Indians}} were born."|||schoolbook written by Dinanath Batra<ref name="Quartz Gujarat"/><ref name="Telegraph Batra"/>}}

The above passage endorses [[Racialism|classification of people based on skin color]]. It claims that Indian people are "just right" while people with lighter or darker skin color are the result of something going wrong. 

Another blatant example of racism from his book is where people with darker skin color are depicted as [[Black brute|violent criminals]]:

{{cquote|The aircraft was flying thousands of feet high in the sky. A very strongly built negro reached the rear door and tried to open it. The air-hostesses tried to stop him but the strongly built negro pushed the soft-bodied hostesses to the floor and shouted, 'Nobody dare move a step ahead'. An Indian grabbed the negro and he could not escape. The pilot and the Indian together thrashed the negro and tied him up with a rope. Like a tied buffalo, he frantically tried to escape but could not. The plane landed safely in Chicago. The negro was a serious criminal in the Chicago records and this brave Indian was an employee of {{wpl|Air India||.}}|||schoolbook written by Dinanath Batra<ref name="Quartz Gujarat"/>}}

This does not even come close to the pseudoscientific insanity that gets passed as education in Dinanath’s books. Especially entertaining examples include:<ref name=NewslaundryKartik/>
*Television was not invented by John Logie Baird in 1926 but rather by Indian ''rishi''s; Sanjay, using his “''Divya Shakti''” (holy power) could provide live telecast of the {{wpl|Mahabharata}} to the blind {{wpl|Dhritarashtra||.}}
*The map of India includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Burma, because that is [[Indian alt-right glossary#Akhand Bharat|Akhand Bharat]].
===Other schoolbooks===
Aside from Batra's books, the RSS also publishes other schoolbooks.

{{cquote|Q: Which are the countries along our present-day border that were once part of our country?

A: Brahmadesh (Myanmar) and Bangladesh to the east, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the west, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan to the north, and Sri Lanka to the south.|||''Bodhmala 4'', page 5}}

This is a page from ''Bodhmala 4'', a textbook on cultural knowledge for class 4 students from Vidya Bharti.

The teachers’ guidebook of the same series also states:

{{cquote|Earlier, Hindu culture prevailed all over Jambudweep... what we call Asia today was the ancient Jambudweep. The whole of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Israel, Russia, Mongolia, China, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Java, Sumatra, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and Afghanistan were part of it. […] In the aftermath of the {{wpl|Mahabharata|war between the Kauravas and the Pandavas}}, it shrunk into {{wpl|Āryāvarta||,}} which included Afghanistan and Pakistan, but attacks, religious conversions and wars in between left us with only Hindustan... according to scientific enquiries, Himalaya and its surroundings, having Kailasa at its centre, is the oldest specimen of land on earth. Trivishtapa (Tibet) is the highest part of land on earth. Arguably, it is here that the human race emerged in the aftermath of the catastrophic flood.|||''Bodhmala'', Teacher’s Guidebook}}

These are some of the many “facts” expounded in the Bodhmala series – textbooks for Class 4-12 students and three guidebooks for teachers – published by the same Haryana-based Vidya Bharti Sanskriti Shiksha Sansthan.

Vidya Bharti publishes three books for teachers: ''Praveshika'', ''Madhyama'' and ''Uttama''.

{{cquote|Foreign historians like Müller, Weber, Ludwig, Housman, Schroeder have spread wrong conceptions about the Vedas, Rama and Krishna and tried to cut off India’s new generation from the pride of our nation’s antiquity and cultural spread. Unfortunately, several Indian historians too started following them and we ended up considering the real existence of our vast nation as imagination. But new history proves that today’s independent countries like Trivishtapa (Tibet), Upaganasthan (Afghanistan), Brahmadesh (Myanmar), Sinhala (Sri Lanka) and Kingpurush (Nepal) had once been part of undivided India.|||''Uttama'' page 33}}

Other interesting factz and tidbits include:<ref>[https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/08/24/from-hindu-ocean-to-sindhu-sea-heres-what-rss-backed-schools-are-teaching-children-about-history From Hindu Ocean to Sindhu Sea: Here’s what RSS-backed schools are teaching children about history] by Snigdhendu Bhattacharya (24 Aug, 2021) Newslaundry</ref>
*Boomerang is modelled on Krishna’s {{wpl|Sudarshana Chakra||.}}
*China is a Sanskrit word, and it has "Aryan culture" (whatever that means).
*Colonel James Tod, an East India Company officer, traced the origins of the Chinese back to the son of Pururava mentioned in the Indian {{wpl|puranas||.}}
*India is the world’s oldest nation.{{efn|India was never a nation, only consisting of fractured empires, until Indian liberals formed an independent India with all of its different cultures.<ref>[https://scroll.in/article/1003389/partha-chatterjee-on-why-no-one-not-even-indians-can-claim-to-be-part-of-an-ancient-nation No one, not even Indians, can claim to be part of an ancient nation] by Partha Chatterjee (Aug 23, 2021), Scroll.in</ref> Even if they meant "civilization", there have been civilizations well outside of India such as in Mesopotamia, China, Mesoamerica, and South America.}} For instance, page 8 of ''Bodhmala'' 8 says, "''Manushya-matra ki janani adibhumi Bharat''." meaning "All human beings originate from India." Of course, as [[Creationism|almost]] everyone knows, modern ''Homo sapiens'' first originated and evolved from Africa.<ref>Chan, E.K.F., Timmermann, A., Baldi, B.F. et al. Human origins in a southern African palaeo-wetland and first migrations. Nature 575, 185–189 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1714-1</ref>
*They're not "Arabian Sea" or "Indian Ocean", they're ''really'' the "Sindhu Sea", and "Hindu Ocean"
[[File:Rajasthan Class 1 Hindi Revised Textbook.png|right|165px|thumb|The revised Hindi textbook for class 1 lists words from Hindu lexicon as examples for the letters of the alphabet. Also note the enforcing of caste stereotypes by using the image of a Brahmin to represent learning.]]
===Writing their own textbooks===
RSS's grip over public education is not limited to the thousands of Vidya Bharati schools. Education ministers in other BJP ruled states, like in the case of Rajasthan’s education minister Vasudev Devnani, have created their own school textbooks by taking notes from Vidya Bharati.<ref name=Rajasthan2>[https://scroll.in/article/901314/inspired-by-the-rss-dictated-by-bjp-minister-the-inside-story-of-rajasthans-textbook-revisions Inspired by the RSS, dictated by BJP minister: The inside story of Rajasthan’s textbook revisions]</ref> After defeating the their opposition in Rajasthan, 2013, the BJP appointed a textbook writing committee selecting only members of the RSS.<ref name=Rajasthan1>https://scroll.in/article/901001/bjps-major-achievement-in-rajasthan-rewriting-schools-textbooks-in-the-rss-worldview</ref> Some of the changes in Devnani's revised textbooks include: 
*The math books of every class will contain a chapter on "Vedic mathematics". 
*Emphasis on "new contexts and concerns at the state and national level," which takes examples of two (failed<ref>{{wpa|Beti_Bachao,_Beti_Padhao_Yojana#Effectiveness}}</ref><ref>{{wpa|Swachh_Bharat_Mission#Reception}}</ref>) BJP-led government policies, namely the ''{{wpl|Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana}}'' ("Save The Girl Child, Educate The Girl Child Campaign") and the ''{{wpl|Swachh Bharat Mission}}'' ("Clean India Mission").<ref name=Rajasthan2/> 
*Enforcing the Hindu supremacist worldview by removing minorities from it entirely. In "''Ajmeer ki Sair''", a story of two boys sightseeing the city of {{wpl|Ajmeer}} for class 3 students, was revised to remove the Muslim characters and places with Muslim names to insert the names of past Hindu rulers "who defeated Bharat’s invaders... several times" and Hindu religious places. The name of the book was also changed to "''Ajmeer ki Yatra''".
*Any mentions of {{wpl|Jawaharlal Nehru||,}} India's first prime minister and famous freedom fighter, was completely removed from the revised class 8 social science books. It does not mention who India’s first Prime Minister was.<ref>https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/jawaharlal-nehru-erased-from-rajasthan-school-textbook-2789754/</ref> This is because of Nehru was a Congress party member, who is the main opposition of the BJP.
*The revised Hindi textbook for class 5 has a chapter on ''Kaamdhenu'', detailing the benefits humans can earn if they consider a cow as their mother.<ref>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Rajasthan-textbooks-have-cows-letter-to-kids/articleshow/52197081.cms</ref> The animal's portrait in the book has a pantheon of Hindu gods tattooed on its body.<ref>https://www.newslaundry.com/2016/05/10/letter-from-a-gau-mata-in-rajasthan-textbooks</ref>
*Lines between fiction from scriptures and nonfictional history is blurred as history texts contain sections about stories from the Mahabharata and Ramayana as historical accounts. The revised history textbook for class 6 talks about how the {{wpl|Pandava|Pandavas}} spent their days in exile while {{wpl|Rama}} ruled over the ancient kingdoms of India.
*Attempts to create national pride through nationalist pseudohistory. The revised class 7 history textbook states that {{wpl|Maharana Pratap}} won the {{wpl|Battle of Haldighati}} against {{wpl|Akbar||;}} the exact opposite of what happened.

What makes this revisionism so severe in Rajasthan's case, is that teachers lack any other resources to teach children.<ref name=Rajasthan3>https://scroll.in/article/901002/rajasthan-teachers-tried-and-failed-to-counter-textbooks-rewritten-to-serve-hindutva-propaganda</ref> For the majority of the Rajasthan students who study in government schools, these free textbooks are perhaps the only ones most of them will ever be exposed to.

===Making the Bhagavad Gita mandatory===
The {{wpl|Bhagavad Gita||,}} a famous Hindu scripture, has been made mandatory for all students studying in government public schools in [[BJP]]-ruled states, such as Gujrat,<ref>https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/gujarat-bhagavad-gita-school-syllabus-classes-6-12-congress-aap-1926616-2022-03-17</ref> where the Gita will be taught from 6th class “in such a way that students will develop an interest in it,” says Gujarat's Education Minister Jitu Vaghani, and in classes 9-12 they will be offered a deeper look into the book. After Gujrat's implementation, BJP-ruled Karnataka also plans to teach the scripture,<ref>https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/bhagavad-gita-schools-will-impart-values-karnataka-cm-says-decision-soon-162078</ref> saying "If not Bhagavad Gita, [[Morality#Morality_without_religion|what else will impart moral values?]]".<ref>https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/if-not-bhagavad-gita-what-else-will-impart-moral-values-karnataka-cm-7827037/</ref> This is the same state that banned hijab to "keep religion out of schools".<ref>https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/02/16/as-karnataka-colleges-reopen-a-tough-choice-for-many-between-faith-education</ref>

==Pseudoscholarship==
===[[Pseudoscience]]===
The Sangh Parivar and Hindutva advocates in general also indulge in a lot of [[pseudoscientific]] claims. For example, it is not uncommon to find Hindutva proponents claiming that the discoveries of modern science are actually re-discoveries of what had been found ages ago by the ancient Hindu saints. Also, they tend to justify things like [[Ayurveda]] using pseudoscientific blabber.

Vedic Science is a concept used by Hindutva advocates to denote to the scientific tradition of ancient India.<ref group=note>Quite similar to the [[Hare Krishna]]s use of the term [[Hare Krishna creationism|"Vedic creationism"]] to give their brand of [[creationism]] some [[Appeal to tradition|ancient]] [[Vedas|Indian patina]].</ref> Astrologer Gayatri Devi Vasudev writing for ''The Organiser'', a publication of the Hindutva organization the RSS, claimed that the distinction of science and pseudoscience (or [[protoscience]]) is [[Eurocentrism|Eurocentric]] and inapplicable to Vedic Science:
{{Cquote|Western scientific thought draws on the traditions of Greek rationalist thinking according to which only what is within the purview of the five senses is taken cognisance of. Scientific methods follow some kind of closed scientific reasoning which insulates itself against facts that its methods cannot account for. How else can they [scientists] dare dismiss Jyotisha ([[astrology]]) which sees a level of existence beyond the purview of the five senses?|||Vasudev 2001<ref>Vasudev, Gayatri Devi. 2001. Vedic astrology and pseudo-scientific criticism, ''The Organiser'' (an English-language publication of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), reprinted in ''The Astrological Magazine'', cited after Sokal (2006:38)</ref>}}

Hindutva advocates even go as far to claim that [[religion]] and [[science]] is identical in India:
{{Cquote|The idea of 'contradiction' is an imported one from the West in recent times by the Western-educated, since 'Modern Science' arbitrarily imagines that it only has the true knowledge and its methods are the only methods to gain knowledge, smacking of Semitic dogmatism in religion.|||Mukhyananda 1997:94<ref>Mukhyananda, Swami. 1997. Vedanta in the Context of Modern Science: A (Comparative Study. Mumbai [Bombay]: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.</ref>}}

===[[Pseudohistory]] and [[pseudoarcheology]]===
Even before the advent of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]], there was a pseudoscientific historian named PN Oak, who made numerous ridiculous claims. Among them, was the allegation that the {{wpl|Taj Mahal}} was a Hindu temple dedicated to [[Shiva]],<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41813339 Reality Check: Whose Taj Mahal is it anyway?], by Vikas Pandey (2 Nov 2017) BBC</ref><ref>{{wpa|P._N._Oak#Taj_Mahal_Theory}}</ref><ref>[https://thediplomat.com/2017/10/no-the-taj-mahal-wasnt-a-hindu-temple/]</ref> and that the Patriarch Abraham, was a Brahman (Abraham, Brahman). He also alleged that the Vatican originated as a Vedic priesthood (Vatican, Vatika), when it has been clearly documented that it was a successor to the Papal States, itself a successor to Western Imperium Romanum. (Just because a bunch of words are similar, that does NOT imply common origin. Hell, the fact that Japanese fisherman chant 'Yahweh', does NOT mean that they descended from the lost tribes of Israel).

In 2014, after the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, it appointed Y. Sudershan Rao, a history professor associated with a [[RSS]]-affiliated organization, as the head of the {{wpl|Indian Council of Historical Research}} (ICHR).<ref name="IT Rao">[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ancient-india-aeroplanes-nuclear-weapons-chief-history-chairman-indian-council-historical-research/1/403167.html Ancient India had aeroplanes, nuclear weapons, says chief of India's premier history body] ''India Today''</ref> Rao believes that material evidence is not necessary to write the history of India. He said during an interview with the Outlook magazine,

{{cquote|Western schools of thought look at material evidence of history. We can’t produce material evidence for everything. India is a continuing civilisation. To look for evidence would mean digging right though the hearts of villages and displacing people. We only have to look at the people to figure out the similarities in their lives and the depiction in the {{wpl|Ramayana}} and the {{wpl|Mahabharata}}. For instance, the Ramayana mentions that {{wpl|Rama}} had travelled to {{wpl|Bhadrachalam|Bhad­ra­chalam}} (in {{wpl|Andhra Pradesh}}). A look at the people and the fact that his having lived there for a while is in the collective memory of the people cannot be discounted in the search for material evidence. In continuing civilisations such as ours, the writing of history cannot depend only on archaeological evidence. We have to depend on [[folklore]] too.|||Y. Sudershan Rao, head of the Indian Council of Historical Researh<ref>[http://www.outlookindia.com/article/Ramayana-Mahabharata-Are-True-Accounts-Of-The-PeriodNot-Myths/291363 ‘Ramayana, Mahabharata Are True Accounts Of The Period...Not Myths’] Outlook</ref>}}

However, this statement is fallacious and in good old RationalWiki fashion, we have dissected and responded to it:

{{sbs|title=1|Rao's argument|Reply}}
{{sbs
|1=Western schools of thought look at material evidence of history.

|2= Historians actually use a method called {{wpl|oral history}} to record non-material evidence. It deals with collective memory and individual construction of history, so Rao is [[straw man]]ning here. The difference between oral history and Rao's [[Pseudohistory|"method"]] (if you can call it that) is that the former has [[History#Historical_Method|a critical approach]], whereas Rao simply [[Biblical literalism|takes folklore]] [[Faith#Blind faith|at face value]].

Rao also sets up a [[False dilemma|false East/West dilemma]], a technique used by fundamentalists in Asia to attack the supposed [[Eurocentrism|Euro-]] and [[Americentrism|Americentric]] [[scientism]] of "Western" academia and replace it with their [[Anti-science|preferred]] [[Woo|brand]] of [[pseudoscience]].}}

{{sbs
|1= We can’t produce material evidence for everything. India is a continuing civilisation.

|2= [[Hand wave|See my hands waving!]] As [[Christopher Hitchens]] so pithily put it: ''"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence."''

Rao also forgets to explain what [[Ad hoc|''"a continuing civilisation"'']] is and why it means we [[Special pleading|should ditch normal criteria]] for conducting historical enquiries. Rao seems to be taking a page from the book of [[paranormal]] [[woo]] peddlers who [[PIDOOMA|make all kinds of excuses]] for why their branch of woo doesn't work [[James Randi|when subjected to controlled experiments]]. Try imagining [[Asatru|a Dane]], making this same argument and insisting that [[Norse mythology|the tales of Thor]] and the {{wpl|Jörmungandr}} has to be taken as fact(oids), because [[Denmark]] is part of "a continuing Norse civilisation". Try again.}}

{{sbs
|1= To look for evidence would mean digging right though the hearts of villages and displacing people.

|2= [[Argument from adverse consequences]]. It's also a [[red herring]] or possibly an [[escape hatch]] bordering on an [[emotional appeal]] ("Oh, the poor farmers!" - as if anyone suggests that it's necessary to move in with bulldozers and demolition crews and raze the houses of the poor villagers. Contrast with how we've acquired knowledge of other ancient, but still inhabited, sites, such as Rome, Jerusalem, Jericho or Istanbul).}}

{{sbs
|1= We only have to look at the people to figure out the similarities in their lives and the depiction in the {{wpl|Ramayana}} and the {{wpl|Mahabharata}}.

|2= If this seems familiar, it's because it's a Hindu version of the old [[Biblical literalism|biblical literalist]] nugget of [[Spider-Man fallacy|"these events were real, hence the ''entire'' Bible must be correct!"]] [[Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence]], Rao. 

Rao is also [[begging the question]], because he uses the fact that folklore occasionally matches written epics which were originally oral epics as evidence that the written version is correct. This is patently absurd because it amounts to using the correspondence between the depiction of Spider-Man in the movies and in the comics as "evidence" that Spider-Man must be real and that the movies are essentially documentaries. It's what we call circular evidence.}}

{{sbs
|1= For instance, the Ramayana mentions that {{wpl|Rama}} had travelled to {{wpl|Bhadrachalam|Bhad­ra­chalam}} (in {{wpl|Andhra Pradesh}}). A look at the people and the fact that his having lived there for a while is in the collective memory of the people cannot be discounted in the search for material evidence. 

|2= Here Rao combines the [[appeal to tradition]] with an [[argumentum ad populum]]. Why would the fact that countless people have believed something for a long time mean it's real? Loads of people believed in the pantheon of the [[Greco-Roman religion|Greco-Roman]] or [[Ancient Egyptian human sacrifice|ancient Egyptian religions]], but [[Polytheistic reconstructionism|practically]] [[House of Netjer|no one]] do so now. Why should we accept Rao's myths?}}

{{sbs
|1= In continuing civilisations such as ours, the writing of history cannot depend only on archaeological evidence. We have to depend on folklore too. 

|2= And so we return to the hand waving, ad hoc'ing and [[argument by assertion]]. Yeah, Rao, [[Argumentum ad nauseam|keep repeating it]] and it will magically become a good argument and every rationalist will believe you...}}

Hindutva advocates propagate the [[Pseudolinguistics|pseudolinguistic]] Indigenous Aryans theory which asserts that the speakers of [[Indo-European languages]] are "indigenous" to the Indian subcontinent.

===[[Revisionism]] of [[science]] and [[technology]]===
Y. Sudershan Rao claimed that Indians used to fly [[aircraft]], conduct [[stem cell research]] and use cosmic weapons 5000 years ago, and believes that the Indian epics the {{wpl|Mahabharata}} and the {{wpl|Ramayana}}, which were written two millennia ago, are not fiction, but essentially [[history]] books.<ref group=note>Similar to how [[Fundamentalist Christianity|some people]] [[Biblical literalism|read]] the [[Bible]]...</ref> He argues humans [[Not even wrong|did not develop the art of fiction writing until a few centuries ago]]; hence, the events and things described in these epics [[False dilemma|must be]] [[Occam's Razor#Occam's duct tape|real]].<ref name="Reuters Modification">[http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/21/us-india-religion-education-idUSKCN0J50BZ20141121 Fears grow in India about Hindu 'Modi-fication' of education], ''Reuters''</ref>

In the [[Nationalism in history textbooks|school textbook]] ''Tejomay Bharat'' written by Hindutva writer Dinanath Batra, it is claimed that television was invented in the age of Mahabharata ca. two millennia ago:
{{Cquote|We know that television was invented by a priest from Scotland called John Logie Baird in 1926. But we want to take you to an even older {{wpl|Doordarshan}}… Indian {{wpl|Rishi|rishis}} using their {{wpl|Yoga|yog}} {{wpl|Vidyā|vidya}} would attain {{wpl|Divya-drishti|divya drishti|.}} There is no doubt that the invention of television goes back to this.|||Dinanath Batra<ref name=Science Gujarat">[http://indianexpress.com/article/india/gujarat/science-lesson-from-gujarat-stem-cells-in-mahabharata-cars-in-veda/ Science lesson from Gujarat: Stem cells in Mahabharata, cars in Veda] ''Indian Express''</ref>}}

Batra's textbook also claimed that the automobile was first invented in ancient India:
{{Cquote|What we know today as the motorcar existed during the Vedic period. It was called aanashva rath.<ref group=note>''Aanashva'' is a name of a kind of rath, ''rath'' is a Hindi word which means chariot.</ref> Usually a rath (chariot) is pulled by horses but an anashva rath means the one that runs without horses or yantra-rath,<ref group=note>''Yantra'' (यन्त्र) is a Hindi word which means machine, hence ''yantra-rath'' (यन्त्र रथ) means a machine chariot.</ref> what is today a motorcar. The Rig Veda refers to this.|||Dinanath Batra<ref name=Science Gujarat"/>}}

In the Indian epic {{wpl|Mahabharata||,}} a character {{wpl|Karna}} is described as having born to an unmarried woman. In 2014, while delivering a lecture in front of a group of doctors and other professionals, [[Narendra Modi]], BJP politician and the 14th Prime Minister of India, said that Karna's birth outside his mother's womb is the proof of the existence of [[genetic science]] in ancient India:<ref name="modi plastic">[http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/28/indian-prime-minister-genetic-science-existed-ancient-times Indian prime minister claims genetic science existed in ancient times] ''The Guardian''</ref>  

{{cquote|We all read about {{wpl|Karna}} in the {{wpl|Mahabharata||.}} If we think a little more, we realize that the Mahabharata says Karna was not born from his mother’s womb. This means that genetic science was present at that time. That is why Karna could be born outside his mother’s womb.|||Narendra Modi<ref name="modi plastic"/>}}

{{wpl|Ganesha}} is a well-known [[Hindu]] deity. His body is that of a human and his head is that of an elephant. In 2014, Modi suggested that this could be possible because an ancient Indian plastic surgeon transplanted elephant's head on the body of a human being.

{{cquote| We can feel proud of what our country achieved in medical science at one point of time... We worship {{wpl|Lord Ganesha||.}} There must have been some plastic surgeon at that time who got an elephant’s head on the body of a human being and began the practice of plastic surgery."|||Narendra Modi<ref name="modi plastic"/>}}

If this kind of “we invented everything” narrative seems familiar, it’s probably because it’s literally the entire plot of [[George Orwell]]’s ''[[1984]]''.

==Hindutva movement worldwide==
The Hindutva movement is not an Indian-only phenomenon. It is present worldwide, in Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries. A number of organizations, mostly in the form of non-profits, constitute the movement and a section of the Hindu Indian diaspora in different countries support these organizations. An average supporter of an Hindutva organization may not adhere to the extremist beliefs of these organizations, but they join or support these organizations out of a perceived sense of alienation in a country where Hindus constitute a religious minority.

In the United States, Hindu nationalists take the benefit of the liberal secular atmosphere of the pluralist American society<ref>[http://contrarianworld.blogspot.in/2014/03/hindutva-bigotry-in-america.html  Hindutva Bigotry in America]</ref> and draw on [[Multiculturalism|multiculturalist]] discourse for their presence, while at the same time they fund cultural and political organizations in India that spread hatred and commit acts of violence against India's religious minorities.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kamat |first=Sangeetha (et al.) |title= [http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/29768205 'Mapping political violence in a globalized world: The case of Hindu nationalism'] |journal=Social Justice |volume=30 |number=3 |page= pp.4–16 |year=2003}}</ref><ref name=Osuri>{{cite journal |last=Osuri |first=Goldie (et al.) |title= [http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/soma.2011.0011 'Transnational Bio/Necropolitics: Hindutva and its Avatars (Australia/India)'] |journal=Somatechnics |volume=1 |number=1 |page= pp.138–160 |year=2011}} </ref> In Australia, Hindu nationalist organizations legitimise their activities through the rhetoric of liberal multiculturalism. At the same time, just like the American Hindutva organizations, they promote hatred against religious minorities in India.<ref name=Osuri/>

==External links==
*{{wpa|Hindutva}}
*[https://sabrangindia.in/article/hindutva-myths-and-reality Hindutva: Myths and Reality]
*[https://medium.com/@stophindutva/hindu-fascism-101-what-is-hindutva-75105e71f5e1 Hindu Fascism 101: What is Hindutva?]
*[https://www.hindutvaharassmentfieldmanual.org/ Hindutva Harassment Field Manual]
*[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/hindu-nationalists-are-gaining-power-in-india--and-silencing-enemies-along-the-way-9155591.html Hindu nationalists are gaining power in India — and silencing enemies along the way], ''The Independent''
*[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3c6d9a92-2c08-11e4-b052-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3XM3zkBnY Hindu nationalists flex muscles in Narendra Modi’s India], ''Financial Times''
*[http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/141854/ananya-vajpeyi/the-triumph-of-the-hindu-right The Triumph of the Hindu Right] ''Foreign Affairs''
*[https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/hitlers-hindus-indias-nazi-loving-nationalists-on-the-rise-1.5628532 Hitler’s Hindus: The Rise and Rise of India’s Nazi-loving Nationalists], ''Haaretz''
*[https://www.dailyo.in/variety/hindu-hinduism-hindustan-hindutva/story/1/20120.html How did Hindus become Hindu and why Hindutva is not Hinduism]

Propaganda in education:
*[http://www.thehindu.com/2001/12/02/stories/2001120200531400.htm Delete and control - the Parivar's mantra], article about manipulation of school textbooks
*[https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/6636 Hindutva’s Dangerous Rewriting of History], full text from journal
*[https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/9887609 The Hindutva View of History: Rewriting Textbooks in India and the United States], full text from the Harvard Library of Scholarly Communication
*[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289887052_The_Textbook_of_Chanakya's_Pupils_Vidya_Bharati_and_Its_Gauravsali_Bharat_Textbook_in_Uttarakhand The Textbook of Chanakya's Pupils. Vidya Bharati and Its Gauravsali Bharat Textbook in Uttarakhand], full text.
*[http://caitlinwesterfield.com/writing_samples/RLST375.pdf The Saffronization of Indian Textbooks]

Online propaganda:
*[https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/02/15/we-infiltrated-the-telegram-groups-of-the-bjp-leaders-online-network-to-see-what-they-do Hate factory: Inside Kapil Mishra’s ‘Hindu Ecosystem’] (Long read) How Hindutva groups manipulate social media.
*[https://www.reporters-collective.in/projects/eyeballpolitics-facebook-investigation #EyeballPolitics Facebook Investigation] (4-part investigative series) The BJP's relations with Facebook itself

Pseudo-scholarship:
*[http://www.frontline.in/social-issues/general-issues/peddler-of-myths/article6283276.ece Peddler of myths], article examining manipulation of History
*[http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2101/stories/20040116001408700.htm Postmodernism, Hindu nationalism and `Vedic science']

Worldwide:
*[http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl1925/stories/20021220005502700.htm The foreign hand], article shows how Hindutva groups collect money in America and then send it back to extremist organizations in India
*[http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jan/03vhp.htm In god's name], article explaining how the [[Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America]] grew
*[http://carnegieendowment.org/2013/08/15/parivar-in-america The Parivar in America], an article about Hindu nationalist activities in the United States
*[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bjp-vhp-rss-the-fundamentalists-win-friends-and-influence-people-in-north-america/1/308078.html Trans-atlantic thrust], another article about Hindu nationalist activities in North America
*[http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/hsh/reddy/riceconference/JAFFRELOT-THERWATH.pdf Western Hindutva: Hindu nationalism in the United Kingdom and North America]
*[http://muse.jhu.edu/article/240700 Hindutva Abroad, The California Textbook Controversy]

==See also==
*[[Indian alt-right glossary]]
*[[National mysticism]]
*[[Nationalist pseudohistory]]
*[[Nationalism in history textbooks]]
*[[Dominionism]]
*[[Islamism]]
*[[969 Movement]]
*[[Christian Identity]]
*[[Fascism]]
*[[Zionism]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

{{Hindu nationalism}}
[[Category:Anti-Christian bigotry]]
[[Category:Birtherism]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Fundamentalism]]
[[Category:Hinduism]]
[[Category:Hindu nationalism]]
[[Category:Islamophobia]]
[[Category:Indian politics]]
[[Category:Nationalist pseudohistory]]
[[Category:Pseudolinguistics]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Religious terms]]
[[Category:Sexism]]
[[Category:Woo]]

Categories: Anti-Christian bigotry, Birtherism, Fascism, Fundamentalism, Hinduism, Hindu nationalism, Islamophobia, Indian politics, Nationalist pseudohistory, Pseudolinguistics, Racism, Religious terms, Sexism, Woo