“Hindutva Explained” – excerpts
Sandeep has written an eloquent essay on DesiCritics which makes for interesting reading “Hindutva Explained”
Excerpts:
“…One of the fundamental aphorisms that embodies the whole of Sanatana Dharma in it is Tat Tvam Asi (You are That). The Tvam or Tva concerns us here.
Tva in its fullest sense can also mean “the state of becoming the object itself.” Like sugar that merges its identity with water upon dissolution. That is how I define Hindutva: Hindu + Tva(m).
As a political movement, Hindutva was a product of its time in the pre-Independence days. An essential product because the Congress party steadily began making ridiculous concessions to extremist Islamic demands. Not too many people remember that the Congress party was dubbed as a party of “Hindus who sought to tyrannize the Muslim minority.” That refrain continues to date sung by our Prime Minister.
On the other side of the fence, the Muslim leadership gave robust calls to restore the pristine Islamic glory that was India under the Mughals. Hindutva as a political ideology grew in both strength and numbers when the Congress party’s subsidences to Muslim demands accelerated under Mahatma Gandhi’s leadership.
The version of Hindutva one hears and reads about in the media is heavily biased against it. Issues like the Babri Masjid and Gujarat violence are blown out of proportion to convey the impression that Hindutva stands for only this. Some vocal proponents of Hindutva need to share part of the blame for this representation because the climate of today’s public discourse has altered.
A small picture of a RSS worker with a Trishul in his hand splashed across front pages and TV screens convey very powerful impressions. Indeed, the most powerful and respected defenders of Hindu causes stemmed from, and are located outside organizational frameworks.
Hindutva is simply a revival of the rich spiritual tradition of India sans numerous evils that crept in with time. It has nothing to do with banning western clothes or books or films. Least of all, it doesn’t concern politics, a common Leftist misrepresentation, which equates a Hindu spiritual head with a Mullah.
Hindutva seeks to revive, expand, and promote the way of life that gave birth to concepts like Rta, Dharma, and Brahman. The fact that few understand these terms and/or ridicule them as backward, illogical, and fictitious makes the need for their revival more urgent. These concepts and their application to practical life has made possible the “tourist attractions” (temples, sculptures, etc) that India offers.
Most political parties who profess Hindutva are ignorant, confused, power-hungry or all of the above. The ones who work towards reviving the Hinduism based on what I just mentioned are typically outside the pale of politics. The kind of politics practiced today cannot revive Hindutva–at best it results in antics like banning Western clothes, distributing Trishuls etc…”
I doubt if I could have put it any better. Thanks Sandeep.
Related Post: Redefining Hinduism – Need of the Hour. See also this article to understand the difference between “Dharma” and “Religion”: Excerpts from “Word as a Weapon”
Hinduism is a beautiful, spiritual system when looked from the top; from bottom it stinks, stinks and stinks.
Reminding and correcting you refractor,
Everything stinks from the bottom may be some what more in other cases.
Sandeep, well done.
When one have positive mind, she/he sees the good thing in positive way. A positive mind can discriminate good from the bad, right from the wrong.
Sanatana Dharma (Hindu dharma) is Eternal/Universal, so it is always positive. Its foundation is positive. A follower of HIndu dharma pray for peace for whole mankind, whole universe. Hindu dharma is a way of life. Its inclusive, while dogmatic religions like Christianism and Muhamedism are exclusive. Hindu dharma have place for both theists (beliver) and atheist (non-beliver).
Hindutva is Hinduness, Hindu thought, Hindu tattva. Those who give negative connotations to the concept, have clear political purpose in it. They fear, HIndutva will revive (as Sandeep said), rejuvenate, energise, bring self-confidence and ultimately unite the followers of Sanatan Dharma. They can’t digest it, as they ruled the nation by dividing the HIndus. Be it Congress or communists, they are dividers of the HIndu society for their personal political gain.
We must not bother much about their negative connotations and propagandas. A lie can’t become truth, no matter how many times one propagate. Truth have its own power and beauty to unfold itself. Satyameva jayate nanritam (truth alone triumphs, not untruth).
As Swami Vivekananda said, “Let people say whatever they like stick to your own convictions and assured, the world would be at your feet.” I have firm belief in his words.
Jaya Bharata, Jaya Sanatana Dharma, Jaya Hindutva!
Sandeep has movingly spoken for many of us. It is indeed THE expression that has to be followed, reintegration of Indian culture under modern conditions is what needs to be urgently done & it cannot be expected from the present tribe of confused politicians. Thank you Sandeep & thank you Santanuji for sharing this with us.
Excerpts from Sh Rajiv Malhotra’s recent essay, Rebutting The Latest Woke Attack On Hindu Universalism By Western Academia, Nov 28, 2022:
To illustrate how we must assert our own approaches to social-political thought, let us discuss the fashionable assault on ‘Hindutva’. This term stands for ‘Hindu-tattva’, which literally means Hindu-essence. Nothing wrong with that.
But critics find it problematic because the term was coined in the context of politics in the twentieth century. The charge is made by many (such as Shashi Tharoor) that Hinduism proper should stay out of politics. They use this view to create a wedge between Hinduism (which they claim to support) and Hindutva (which they fight fiercely).
Let me explain my views on this pivotal issue since Sundaram aligns with the anti-Hindutva camp.
Hindu dharma, like all other faiths, very clearly and explicitly includes the social-political dimension. That is what is called Kshatriya dharma, the dharma of political, military, judicial, and civic roles.
The Ramayana is about bhagwan taking birth as Sri Ramachandra — a Kshatriya king to perform that role. The Mahabharata is about Sri Krishna directing the Kshatriyas to perform their roles.
In the Ramayana, the Kshatriyas must fight an external enemy from another kingdom. In the Mahabharata, the Kshatriyas must fight internal enemies, in fact one’s own cousins.
To delete politics from dharma would mean deleting the agency of the Kshatriyas, and hence rendering both the Itihasa narratives outside the scope of Hindu dharma. This would amount to surrendering the political space to foreign rule, ie, colonisation.
I am not fond of the term ‘Hindutva’ because Hindu dharma more than suffices. But I fully support what it stands for. The Kshatriya roles are critical for Hindus in this era of globalisation.
Historically, all colonisers seek to exterminate the Kshatriyas of a defeated people, in order to render them helpless and dependent on the colonisers.
The defiance of British rule by Indian nationalists (ranging from Mohandas Gandhi to Veer Savarkar) exemplified the modern return of the Kshatriyas.
Those who seek to delete Kshatriyas are in effect paving the way for the recolonisation of Hindu society. I would go a step further and say that modern democracy can be seen as a form of participatory-Kshatriyata in which every adult citizen participates in the political yajna of protecting society.