'Hinduism and Political Hinduism'

International journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR)Review, 2023

India is one of the biggest democratic countries in the world in terms of population, geography and multi-party system in governance. The secular nature of the country keeps united all the citizens of India irrespective of their religious differences. The sovereignty of this country rests in its republic with a constitution that binds all as Indians. But in the resent past after the Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, the secular fabric of India is being distorted. The age old Congress party that stood for secularism is made redundant when the right wing political party (BJP) started asserting its hegemony with its political philosophy of Hindutva. The majority of Indian population though consists of Hindus, the Hindutva ideology is disdained and remains unsavoury. This research article deals with the essence of Hinduism and how the distorted image of Hinduism is projected by Hindutva forces to create a make-believe situation where the secular nature of India is targeted to form one nation, one culture and one people. The unsavoury Hindutva politics indeed undermines democracy and secularism in India.

Swastik, 2014

The studies on various societies and the recent changes in some countries show that religion whether as a social structure or an important part of culture, still has some important social functions. This book has followed the use of religion in politics in a society still traditional but with a secular state. It is an attempt to understand why religion is important in politics and politicians still use it. For this purpose, India as a context of the study has been examined. The study tries to find out the reasons for the continuous relevance of religion in the Indian political arena. It clarifies the different aspects of political function of religion in contemporary India and the political groups or leaders who have made an effective use of this function. It also tries to explore the impact of the new situation in post-independence India on the political functions of religion in the country. The book, originally written in 2013 as a PhD thesis, which mentions a possible Abrahamic agreement between Islamic, Jewish and Christian states (p. 62), similar to what was later happened in 2020 under Abraham Accords between USA, Israel and Arab countries. It is available upon request.

Eknath was on his way home after taking a bath in the river (Godavari River). A Muslim after chewing a pan spat on him. Eknath without uttering a word went back to the river and took his bath. He again encountered the Muslim who, it seems, was waiting for freshly bathed Eknath arrival only to spit on him. These acts of spitting and bathing went on for a while. A crowd gathered to see who would win this 'contest'. In the end the Muslim gave up spitting and withdrew shamefacedly. " 1 Semitic challenges The above story of Eknath (1553-99), who was one of the most popular Bhakti poets in Maharashtra and was known for his knowledge of the Koran and the Hadith, is revealing in many ways. It demonstrates the extreme liberal outlook and tolerance practiced by a Hindu saint one hand and the strong Semitic contempt for Hindu tradition, religio-cultural during the medieval period on the other. Such individual behaviour also represents collective consciousness of the respective cultural or religious groups. With the introduction of Semitics religions, particularly Islam and Christianity in India, the confrontation on religious practices and rituals was not as appalling as direct confrontation on ways of life, philosophy of life. If Hindu way of life has been historically marked by one characteristic then it is pluralism. It exhibits individual's liberty beyond the control of religious institutions and scripts and freedom to challenge even the core values, proposition of religion, sects, scriptures , religious icons and heads on the one hand and his /her freedom to explore new paths in spirituality and philosophy. It at the same time believes in the fundamental unity of approaches to truth. Therefore pluralism leads to synthesis. Heinrich Von Stietencron observes that Semitic parameters cannot be applied to define Hinduism. He rightly states that-" Why Hinduism is so difficult to define? It is because we always try to see it as one " religion ". Our problems would vanish if we took " Hinduism " to denote socio – cultural unit or civilisation which contains a plurality of distinct religions. " 2 The humanity has not been made hostage of any final word or final saying. Thus it creates a propitious ground for critical debate and discussion. Kulke observes that diversities and pluralism are 'inbuilt in Hinduism'3. However, Semitic ideology is strongly based on 'either – or'. Submission or conversion has been practiced by them to end pluralism. For them, Hindu way of life was a negation to their belief and mission. Hinduism also possesses unbounded resilience. History is replete with instances which show all efforts to impose Semitic ideology met with severe resistance at individual, social and cultural levels. The consistent effort to colonise Hindu mind and culture, exerted a direct influence on the Hindu mind. It gradually led Hindus to respond to direct and indirect attack on their way of life. Initially, it was perceived merely a religious question, and was responded by progressive measures to correct the Hindu social ecology. Hindu society incrementally accepted egalitarian model which was lost during certain period of Indian history. For instance, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar gave a memorandum in support of the widow marriage (which was legalized in 1856) was signed by 987 people only while the counter memorandum opposing widow marriage by Radhakant Deo was signed by 36,765. Yet, it was the minority view which led paradigmatic shift in social philosophy.

Journal of People's Studies, 2016

Rohith Vemula's death is not just an institutional murder; rather it is the systemic stratagem of a deadly design. His death has raised eyebrows of the entire world, as it is the continuum of the Hindutva assault on Dalit assertion. In many ways the radical Dalit politics espoused by groups like the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) is diametrically opposite to that of Hindutva. Nothing else punctures the pompous claims about Hindu civilisation, culture and rashtra, as effectively as the radical Dalit politics. Ever since Phule-Ambedkar discourse, the radical Dalits have pointedly questioned the very existence of a Hindu society, culture and civilisation. Examining it from the Dalit-Adivasi viewpoint is crucial since it would unfold the dynamics of the social, religious and politics of communal fascism to the lowest level. In a broader perspective, communalism of polity is preliminary to fascism of polity. In today's context what is going on in India it is not mere communalism of polity, rather it is the politics of fascism under the Hindutva brigade married to the corporate capital. Thus in this paper I engage with a critical outlook of the very political ideology and how would it matter to the Dalits and Adivasis (or Indigenous people). I also engage with the questions of how caste fascism is the political theology of domination? What is the Indian perspective to understand the fascism of caste? What was the ideological upsurge of Hindutva? How did it domineered all aspects of indigenous life?

In most parts of the world, the political processes have arisen out of social matrix. Tribes, clans, castes, classes have existed around a social organization. Economy, polity, religion, family and kinship networks have operated under a social framework. When Aristotle said that man is a political animal he had in mind the social element. In ancient Greece the political and the social were interdependent. F.D. Coulanges in his study of ancient cities noted that in Greek city states, the political activities of free citizens (who excluded women and slaves) were associated with social and religious duties and obligations. The people who gathered at the public forum participated in city cults which honoured their ancestors and deities and subsequently engaged themselves in political discussion. The Roman cities also had similar cuts which were led by the senators in the presence of citizens. The modern states have treated political work as a formal process which is independent of other factors. At present, the direct participation of people in politics has become a thing of the past.

Lecture delivered at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, University of Oxford, 2012

The Wire, 2017

Despite economic troubles, a questionable education system and a booming healthcare sector catering fabulously to its minuscule elite, it is religion that is on the tip of every politician’s tongue.

2016

This book focuses on issues and changes that took place in Hinduism since about the end of the eighteenth century and in the post-colonial situation. The essays highlight central issues relating to Hinduism in the colonial and contemporary periods. Examining the relationship between Hinduism and India’s political systems thereafter, the papers highlight issues such as the relationship between Hinduism and economics and the position of Hindu women in arranged marriages in contemporary urban Indian society. CONTENTS Series Note Introduction - Geoffrey A Oddie The Emergence and Significance of the term “Hinduism” - Geoffrey A. Oddie Hinduism and Modernity - Will Sweetman Hinduism and Law - Timothy Lubin Hinduism and Economics - Thomas Birtchnell The Sacred in Modern Hindu Politics: Historical Processes Underlying Hinduism and Hindutva - Robert Eric Frykenberg Media Hinduism - Ursula Rao Modern Hindu Guru Movements - Michael James Spurr Folk Hinduism: The Middle Ground? - Aditya Malik Oral Traditions - Aditya Malik Hinduism and Healing - Fabrizio Ferrari Possession - Elizabeth Schömbucher The Urban Hindu Arranged Marriage in Contemporary Indian Society - Reshmi Roy Caste and Hinduism - Vinay Kumar Srivastava

Southeastern Political Review, 1998

This paper examines the Hindu-Muslim conflict in India within the context of nationalist par@ politics in the sub-continent. This paper analyzes the environment within which the Hindu nationalist message was and is currently being formulated; the organizational structure of the movement; and the symbols and strategies that have helped to popularize the message on Hindutva in recent years. The paper concludes with an analysis of the popular response to Hindutva and the problems facing the BJP and its parent organizations in cartying out the program toward a revolutionized Hindu rashtra. The aim is to provide an understanding of the historical and political forces at work in the recent anti-Muslim violence in India.