Public Hinduism and Hindutva

Abstract

The task of defining Hinduism is famously challenging. One way to address this challenge is to think of Hinduism less as a monolithic or unitary religious tradition and more as a multitude of faiths or perhaps as a plural universe consisting of a plethora of gods, gurus, sects, sampradayas, traditions, communities, and castes. In this respect, the sheer complexity of Hinduism stands in sharp contrast to the modern concept of Hindutva. In a literal sense, the term means ‘Hinduness,’ which is to say the quality or state of being Hindu. Precisely because Hindutva purports to confidently identify the essential quality of Hinduness, it has become a highly contested concept in the politics of contemporary India. As originally expounded by V. D. Savarkar in his influential tract Hindutva (1923) and later popularized by the Sangh Parivar, or ‘family of organizations’—the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parisad (VHP), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—claims of Hindutva serve to advance an exclusivist political ideology. That is, claims about Hindutva are effectively also claims about India as a Hindu nation, a nation that excludes all those who are non-Hindus, not least Muslims and Christians.