This article uses the context of the widespread circulation of accounts about "CoronaJihad" in India during the COVID-19 pandemic to examine how public WhatsApp groups that participate in disseminating such accounts function within the ecosystem of hate around Hindutva majoritarianism in the country. The manner in which the WhatsApp platform operates within this ecosystem is mapped through a granular study of three public Hindutva WhatsApp groups; the messages within these groups during the first phase of the COVID-19 lock-down in India were examined during the course of this study. The pattern of messaging within the three groups that contribute to the narrative of "CoronaJihad," which blames the minority Muslim community for the spread of the virus in India, were analyzed. The article focuses on factors including company policies and the specific sociopolitical situation in the country to understand the circumstances that make WhatsApp's deep entanglement with the divisive politics of Hindutva majoritarianism in India possible.
The task undertaken by this dissertation is to offer a theological response to Hindutva nationalism and its challenges to Christians in India. The particular focus is to understand and critique Hindutva conception of the State and its failure to work towards the common good of all. Towards that end this dissertation expounds a theological frame work in light of Luther's Two Realm theology to help Christians take their Christian faith seriously (exclusive in nature) while embracing an inclusive paradigm (inclusive in nature) which enables Christians to work together with people of different faiths or no faiths for the common good. This dissertation affirms that, Luther's Two Realm theology provides an analytical tool to understand and distinguish between the concerns, activities, and mode of God's rule in relation to God's two realms of life, which is fundamental to any theology of engagement. In light of the principles explicated, this dissertation affirms the state to be an instrument of God in the left-hand realm for the maintenance of external peace, justice, and the common good for all. Such an affirmation helps Christians in India to affirm the Indian constitutional version of the state and government which seeks to represent and accommodates every one irrespective of one's caste, creed, language or culture over against the Hindutva vision of a monolithic Hindu state where people belonging to non-Hindu religions do not have a legitimate space in the nationhood. In our effort to find a common ground with people of different faiths or no faiths, this dissertation emphasizes the importance of two foundations for our common existence, namely common Creatureliness and common morality based on natural law and human wisdom. This dissertation explores a Christian's social engagement in the public square, through their vocational call to be a citizen and/or as political authority. Finally this dissertation examines how the Church as an institution in the left-hand can carry out its divine mandate towards the extension and welfare of all under law in the temporal realm. This dissertation is written as a faithful confession of God's word within the Lutheran doctrinal tradition with an intention to provide a resource to help and equip the church, and Christians in India, to continue to be faithful in the midst of Hindutva challenges in the public square towards the common good for all.
Die kulturelle Diversität Indiens ist einzigartig und es gilt als unverkennbares Charakteristikum des Landes, diese Einheit in Vielfalt mit all ihren Schwierigkeiten und Herausforderungen seit der Unabhängigkeit bewahrt zu haben. Mit Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts mehren sich jedoch die Anzeichen, dass dieser auf kultureller Vielfalt beruhende Einheitsgedanke zunehmend ins Wanken gerät. Die politische Machtverschiebung hin zur hindu-nationalistischen Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ergibt noch nie dagewesene Einflussmöglichkeiten für den radikal hindu-nationalistischen Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Über die Hindutva-Ideologie wird der Aufbau einer Hindu-Rashtra, einer Hindu-Nation vorangetrieben. Die Frage nach den Beziehungen innerhalb des Dreigestirns RSS-Hindutva-BJP und den damit verbundenen Auswirkungen auf die kulturell so vielfältige indische Gesellschaft steht im Zentrum meiner Forschungen. Die Diplomarbeit umfasst einen allgemeinen Überblick zum RSS und der BJP, der Fokus liegt nachfolgend auf deren Involvierung in hindu-nationalistische Konfliktfelder, darunter etwa der Ayodhya-Konflikt und das Pogrom von Gujarat. In diesem Zusammenhang wird auch der Frage nachgegangen, ob es sich beim RSS und der BJP um faschistische Organisationen handelt die vorliegende Arbeit soll einen weiteren Beitrag zu einer möglichen Einordnung leisten. Die zentrale Forschungsfrage liegt jedoch auf den Beziehungen zwischen RSS und BJP sowie ihrem Verhältnis zur Hindutva-Ideologie, die entlang der bisher kaum erforschten Eigenperspektive der beiden Organisationen zueinander diskutiert wird. Das geschieht entlang fundierter Analysen ihrer Websites; darunter befinden sich zahlreiche Artikel, Presseaussendungen, pdf-Versionen von Büchern sowie eine Sammlung sämtlicher BJP-Wahlprogramme. In einem abschließenden Kapitel werden durch qualitative Interviews Einblicke in subjektive Zugänge zum Dreigestirn RSS-Hindutva-BJP von in Graz lebenden InderInnen gegeben. ; India's cultural diversity is unique and as a distinctive characteristic, Indian "unity in diversity" taking all its difficulties and challenges into account has been present since the independence. However, this concept of being united in diversity has increasingly become unstable since the beginning of the 21st century. The political power shift towards the Hindu-nationalistic Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) offers influence for the radical Hindu-nationalistic Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which has never been seen before. Through the so called Hindutva-ideology, the building of a Hindu-Rashtra a Hindu-nation is in progress. Therefore the focus of my survey is regarding the relation of the triumvirate RSS-Hindutva-BJP and the resulting consequences for the culturally rich Indian society. The present thesis includes a general overview of the RSS and the BJP; subsequently the focus lies on their involvement in Hindu-nationalistic motivated conflicts such as the Ayodhya-conflict and the Gujarat pogrom. In this context arises the question if RSS and BJP can be considered as fascist organisations the present thesis offers a further input for a possible classification. The central research question though is related to the connections between the RSS and the BJP as well as their relation towards the Hindutva-ideology. This is meant to be discussed from their own perspective towards each other, which has hardly been researched until now. That occurs along with well-founded analysis of both RSS and BJP websites including numerous articles, press statements, pdf-versions of books and a collection of all BJP election manifestos. In the concluding chapter, qualitative interviews offer possibilities of insights regarding perceptions of the triumvirate RSS-Hindutva-BJP from Indians living in Graz. ; vorgelegt von Jürgen Holzer ; Abweichender Titel laut Übersetzung des Verfassers/der Verfasserin ; Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Diplomarbeit, 2020 ; (VLID)5215219
Hindu intelligentsia makes a secret use of the inimical relations between Muslims, Scheduled castes, Scheduled tribes and Adivasis, which has grown even worse, recently. This lends ammunition to the ulterior forces of intelligentsia, in order to extract desirable actions from them. The fact that the maximum atrocities have happened to these communities, has made them adopt a politics of vengeance and retaliation. Instead of uncovering their atrocities and bringing them out before the entire world, they prefer to keep grievances to themselves and retaliate in their own ways. The retaliatory politics worsen the inimical ties and this makes the radical Hindu forces even more actively installed. At the same time, Muslims and Christians show least interest in resisting casteist forces, which they believe is a matter of religion and they should not be meddling with, accounts for the resentment of Dalit-Bahujans against them. I speculate, phenomenon of Hindutva has a historical impetus to it and it is a result of painstaking work of many years. This paper makes use of Bankim's Anandamath to illustrate the emergence of Hindutva forces and the ease with which they fitted in Indian nationalist discourse. Anandamath has no explicit political agenda but it implicitly tries to construct a new moral universe for its readers. It endows the readers with a new moral imperative and totally different sense of purpose. The novel, has messianic overtones, as it tries to give the impression as if it is a preparation for a war, a historical war which could transform the destiny of Indian nation. The emergence of the novel added fuel to the already swelling tide of nationalism.
'Marginalization' is a process of segregation of the socio-culturally, economically, politically and religiously underprivileged group. Marginalization is an inequitable behaviour towards the minorities and weaker sections of the society by the majorities or stronger sections. Dalits, untouchables, tribals, muslims, transgenders and female are generally regarded as marginal or peripheral. So, they are vulnerable to exploitation. Arundhati Roy's latest novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a registered account of violence on the marginals. The novel incarnates the lynching of thousand minorities in Gujrat riot in 2002, mass slaughtering of three dalit men on the rumour of cow slaughtering, the disrespectful demolition and humiliation of an untouchable soldier S. Murugesan's statue for the audacious erection on the edge of touchable's village, the eviction and execution of tribal in Operation Green Hunt in 2009, and humiliation, rejection and segregated life of Transgenders. The novel unfolds the upliftment of Hindutva and their atrocities on the non- Hindus. The objective of this paper is to portray the plight of marginal people in caste ridden India and the violence coming into their life physically and mentally.
The relationship between religion and nationalism is explored in this paper which takes Vinayak Damodar Savarkar as its core focus of analysis. Given the incomplete process of nation-building in the case of India and the intrinsic challenge of how to cultivate a nationalism when the sense of a nation and nationality is lacking, Nandy discusses Savarkar's idea of Hindutva and the use of religion as a vehicle of nation-building. This, despite Savarkar's being a non-believer. Nandy explores parallels with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, whose project of nation and state-building is also seen in terms of political categories that were drawn from the Western experience and ideal of the Westphalian state. Exploring the love-hate relationship with Savarkar that is prevalent in contemporary India, Nandy probes the concerted attempt to demonise Savarkar and asks whether this is yet another means by which a young nation seeks to exorcise its past?
Since India's independence (and even before) there is a growing ideological debate regarding its identity and self-understanding. The focal point of this discussion is the much-disputed and multi-faceted Indian historical figure Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (1985-1966). His life and work, and above all his literary compositions, point to numerous paradoxes and controversial phenomena, which divides the discussants basically into two essential camps. On the one side are those who see Savarkar and his socio-political vision (Hindutva) that he proclaimed as the greatest danger to the foundation of the modern, secular state, democracy, and multiculturalism. With this background, Savarkar is used as the synonym for an "anti-modern" regression, and as the ideological founder of a phenomenon that has usually been referred to as "Hindu nationalism" or "Hindu fundamentalism". This side is opposed by a second camp consisting of people who tend to see Savarkar and his perceptions of state theory as a legitimate and ambitious form of democratic self-determination. However, all these controversies about Savarkar do not take into account the philosophical tenets underlying his social and political thoughts. Both Indian as well as Western scholars have focused only on some particular fragments of his thoughts without spending the time and effort to understand his various theoretical concepts in a complex and coherent framework. Therefore, this article aims to explore the philosophical foundation of his notions and actions, and suggests crucial variables for further scientific analysis.
India is a large and extremely diverse multination state that is constantly faced with the challenge of maintaining its unity. In the past two decades the Hindu nationalist movement has become a significant factor in Indian politics, and has systematically leveraged heritage to create communal tensions. This has resulted in short-term political gain, but is also tied to longer-term goals of establishing a homogenously Hindu state in South Asia. This article argues that instead of being in decline, this movement is actually progressively expanding, and that the case of Ayodhya is only one part of a much larger programme in which heritage academics play a significant role, and that their collective actions will be pivotal to the future stability of the country.
Some understand fundamentalism (hereafter F for convenience) as orthodoxy, others as a form o f puritanism, yet others as obscurantism or even fanaticism. We may thus refer to two types o f Fundamentalism, one positive (F+) and one negative (F-), the former tolerant and the latter intolerant or even hostile. The author analyses fundamentalism from the perspective o f Indian politics and suggests some positive steps to deal with it.
Abstract. The paper will examine the dramatic rise of the right-wing Hindu organisations in India, especially since the 1990s. Most prominent among these organisations are RSS, BJP, VHP, Bajang Dal and Shiv Sena. However, they all work together under the philosophy of Hindutva (i.e. Hindu-ness) and are rabidly anti-minority in their stance. They appear to need an 'enemy' in the form of a religious minority to unite Hindus and consolidate their support. This study is important because RSS is too politically significant to be ignored. Since the BJP (BhartiyaJanta Party) came to power in May 2014, its ministers and senior party leaders have been coming out in support of Hindutva. Attacks against Muslims have risen sharply. Cultural issues such as cow slaughter and the building of the Ram temple at Ayodhya have been raised again by the RSS as a means of dividing communities and keeping Muslims in a state of constant fear and insecurity. This study argues that the failure of India's economic development to remove socio-economic constraints leading to slow and uneven development has intensified rivalry between castes and religious communities. Under such conditions, it became possible for extremist Hindu organisations to target people on the basis of religion.Keywords. India, Hindus, Muslims, RSS, BJP, Hindutva, Communalism, and Violence.JEL. N30, N35, N40.
Throughout Indian history, spiritual practice has had an intimate relationship with Indian politics and state-building. In this paper, I aim to establish a connection between Ayurveda and Hindutva politics by tracing the dissemination of spiritual and social ideologies in India. My goal is to illuminate the intersection between New Age spiritualism, Hindutva ideologies and how these might perpetuate the legacy of colonialism and hierarchical violence in India. This paper aims to examine state-building and spiritual practice in relation to each other, and the implications of this both locally and globally.
The phenomenon of Hindutva might give the impression that it belongs to the canonical part of the Hindu traditions. Not only does it not belong there; even the word Hindu finds no place there. By no stretch of the imagination can they be understood as be longing to the same category. Whereas Hindu has functioned as a Sangam for a class of traditions that share in some common or similar beliefs, doctrines, attitudes and values, Hindutva is a la bel that stands for a communalistic, fascistic and fundamentalistic movement that uses religion, religious deities, customs, and places apparently for promoting religion and its interests but in actual fact for sheer power political purposes. Hindu and Hindutva are as different as religion and politics. Hindu still belongs to the world of religion and religious experience; Hindutva has not only nothing to do with authentic religion, it is in essence anti-Hindu both in style and in substance. Admittedly, Hindu is a late arrival in the conscious ness and self-consciousness of the traditions in question but it has been so accepted by all of them that it has now become part of their identity. Not so Hindutva. The latter, a recent phenomenon, has emerged from a social and political situation that is very new. That of course is no reason for rejecting it. The reason why it cannot enter the Hindu canon is that it goes against the very grain of Hindu spirituality and religion.
India, for the last few years has become a nation of prohibitions that deliberately or not challenge the nature of democracy and secularism. It is purely credible that, from the status of a domestic animal the cow has transformed to a political animal with National identity, especially during and after the unrests of beef ban. Parallel to this, another operating mode of Nationalism also is being celebrated connecting Indian Army with the romanticized and sentimental concept of the mother land. Constant efforts are made to propagate the patriotic image of Army so that the sense of protection and defense can be nationalized and re-defined. To fight for one's own land is treated as 'Kshatriya Dharma' and this notion is associated with Hindutva. Imposing ban on cow meat is also connected with the same ideology, for cow is treated holy according to the Hindu belief. Army and cow stand parallel in the discourse of Nationalism. The present paper is an attempt to trace the history of Cow Politics and nationalism in India which is not inclusive in nature. As a shared group feeling, nationalism is a concept that holds people together, attached to a single ideology and social conditioning. The question is how the state construct a biased and elite national identity by making use of some seemingly normal narratives in day-today political dialogues. The paper further investigates how the glorified Military narratives accelerate Hindu Nationalism dismantling the marginal voices of farmers challenging the slogan: Jai Javan, Jai Kisan.
From 2009 to 2019, the story of Bhartiya Janata Party(ruling party) has been one of an amazing transformation .In 2014, election was fought on the grounds of economic development and not on ethnic or regional lines. But in 2019 Bhartiya Janta Party had landslide victory under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,bringing a dramatic shift in the nature and manner of Indian electoral politics . The voting pattern during the election of 2019 witnessed a strong sense of nationalism, the need to have a strong stable government and the belief that only Narendra Modi could wear Hindutva on his sleeves.
La extrema derecha hindú llegó al poder en India en 2014 y en la actualidad controla un buen número de estados de la Unión, además de ostentar el gobierno federal. Esto ha contraído una serie de cambios en las reglas del juego político en el país. La primera parte de mi artículo indica el alcance de este poder, sus consecuencias inmediatas y aquellas otras a largo plazo. Haré una semblanza histórica del extremismo hindú, así como del desarrollo de su estructura a lo largo de nueve décadas. Finalmente me centraré en dos casos instigados contra las minorías religiosas y la libertad de pensamiento y elección, explicaré su relevancia en los planes de la derecha hindú y el lugar que ocupan en su estrategia. ; Hindu extremism captured state power in India in 2014, and, at present, it controls a large number of regional states as well as leading the ruling coalition at the Centre. This has led to significant and wide ranging changes in Indian polity and in political norms and values, and the first part of my article will briefly indicate their range, immediate consequences and long term implications. I will outline the historical evolution, and unpack the structural distinctiveness, of the Hindu Far Right to explore its mobilisational strategies and its ideological agenda over nine decades. In the final part, I will focus on two specific sites of violent hate crimes against religious minorities and against freedom of individual and collective thought and choice.I will finally try and explain their relevance to the larger agenda of the Hindu Right and their broad direction.
