What Is Hindutva, and What Role Has It Played in Indian Identity Politics?
Essay: What is Hindutva, and what role has it played in Indian identity politics?
Through the duration of my study, it has become clear to me that Hindutva has many different meanings to many different people. Although there are many differing interpretations of Hindutva, at its core it is simply an ideology. Hindutva literally means Hinduness, which is, as it sounds, a way of life or a state of mind that is based on both a cultural and spiritual ethos. Hindutva is a spiritual philosophy founded and developed from ancient times within Indian history. Its philosophy is based on securing an all round happiness for all individuals irrespective of religion. It is only through researching and understanding Hindutva itself that we are able to answer the second part of this question. Hindutva and its role in Indian identity politics is a complicated story. In order to understand its involvement fully, we must look at Hindutva’s transformation from a common ideology, to the cornerstone policies of Indian political parties. It is through this involvement in politics that Hindutva plays such a vast and complicated role in Indian identity politics. It will be argued that the institutional practice of secularism and the slow process of modernization made religion a political category that was particularly prone to politicization, which in turn, is how; Hindutva became an important and influential part of Indian identity politics.
The Hindutva ideology, has existed since its conception in the early 20th century. However, Hindutva first came to prominence in Indian politics in the late 1980s, when two major events gave Hindutva the necessary media coverage for a large number of mainstream Hindus to join the movement. The first of these events was Rajiv Gandhi’s use of his political party and its parliamentary majority to overturn a Supreme Court verdict granting alimony to an Indian woman who had angered many Indian Muslims. The second was the dispute over the 16th
Through the duration of my study, it has become clear to me that Hindutva has many different meanings to many different people. Although there are many differing interpretations of Hindutva, at its core it is simply an ideology. Hindutva literally means Hinduness, which is, as it sounds, a way of life or a state of mind that is based on both a cultural and spiritual ethos. Hindutva is a spiritual philosophy founded and developed from ancient times within Indian history. Its philosophy is based on securing an all round happiness for all individuals irrespective of religion. It is only through researching and understanding Hindutva itself that we are able to answer the second part of this question. Hindutva and its role in Indian identity politics is a complicated story. In order to understand its involvement fully, we must look at Hindutva’s transformation from a common ideology, to the cornerstone policies of Indian political parties. It is through this involvement in politics that Hindutva plays such a vast and complicated role in Indian identity politics. It will be argued that the institutional practice of secularism and the slow process of modernization made religion a political category that was particularly prone to politicization, which in turn, is how; Hindutva became an important and influential part of Indian identity politics.
The Hindutva ideology, has existed since its conception in the early 20th century. However, Hindutva first came to prominence in Indian politics in the late 1980s, when two major events gave Hindutva the necessary media coverage for a large number of mainstream Hindus to join the movement. The first of these events was Rajiv Gandhi’s use of his political party and its parliamentary majority to overturn a Supreme Court verdict granting alimony to an Indian woman who had angered many Indian Muslims. The second was the dispute over the 16th