Hindutva

Hindu nationalism is a political ideology which refers to Hindu religious values. The Sangh Parivar, or “family of organizations,” is a group of Hindu nationalists, which emerged from bitter confrontations with European colonists, who sought to establish their own national identity in India. In the 1920s, the Hindu nationalist movement gained support amongst Hindus who felt oppressed by the British colonists and desired a return to India’s pure roots. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), or the Indian’s People Party, identified the nationalist movement as “not just a religion, but a way of life.” While this idea sounds welcoming for many in the Hindu community, Indians who identify themselves as Sikh, Christian, or Muslim, have found this notion to be oppressing. This essay will examine the development of the Hindu Nationalist Movement, specifically how Hindu nationalism manifested into a movement of violence in Indian society. The result of British imperialists who ruled over major areas in India, created a series of inter-state conflicts and increasing hostility amongst the native Indian population. “The British colonial state controversially ruled India in a way that deteriorated religious significance, and encouraged many Indians to live a life through Western values”(Jaffrelot, 16). This created dispute amongst local Hindus, who began partaking in activist campaigns to discuss how Hindu society could be reorganized and revived. One of the issues discussed in the campaigns…

like Dr. Annie Besant also have acknowledged the concept of Hindu rashtra. Vivekananda was seen as a crucial icon of the Hindu nationalist discourse, even though the Ramakrishna Mission founded by him had distanced itself from the Hindu nationalism. This was because he had put in a lot of efforts for the revitalization of the Hindu nation. V.D Savarkar was one of the first in the twentieth century who attempted to formulate a definitive description of the term ‘Hindu rashtra’ in terms of what…

particularly the unreceptive and intellectually worthwhile cross relationship between Asian cultures. The third part of the book looks at divergences of class and criticizes inequality in Indian society and opinions that have been used to rationalize them. Lastly, the book explores modern cultures of secularism and restraint in Indian context. Sen disproves the superficial western explanation of India as a ‘mainly Hindu country' with the same rigorous erudition that he knock down the…

It was just a nice reminder that most other cultural groups do indeed have a third gender and the gender-binary system is highly western. Given that this film is not 100% accurate, it aims at bridging the Indian Muslim gap and presents “ a post-Hindutva-building narrative advocating Hindu-Muslim harmony. Furthermore as stated in the article, Raita Merivirta Historical Film and Hindu Muslim Relations in Posy Hindutva India The case of Jodhaa Akbar, The film portrays events from the past, with the…

when casted against her. This was specially shown by a cover story in one of the magazine saying: 'Is Sridevi a hero?' This shows that the attitude and the perception of women had totally changed by that time. With the increasing of Westernization of these films, there was a huge effect on the perceptions of beauty, sexuality, and gender roles for women? With this increased of Westernization of films, there was a need to the increased in marketization of Bollywood films…

the huge Muslim population that follows the religion Islam is falling behind economically and socially. It states, “In some of India’s State’s education and poverty indicators show Muslims falling behind even dalits” (pg.75). The Muslim’s in India has a small number successful globals,but they have a large number of poor locals and no middle class. On average, about 4 percent of Muslims do not complete secondary school. This leaves them uneducated and incapable of getting a good job with their…

available for the wider readership even today. Interestingly, the West is well aware of Gandhi, (Gandhi's bust resides beautifully at York University library as well) but an intellectual thinker/scholar, who opposed the orthodox beliefs that Gandhi held regarding caste system, and advocated for an egalitarian society, remains unnoticed. This section explores the major works by Ambedkar and juxtaposes them with the nationalist rhetoric which often obliterates the Other. "Antinationalism" and the…

country. Breaking coconuts, aarti, tilak etc., which Hindus associate with the most are often seen in the State/Government occasions as well. The state itself is contradicting the values of secularism. But it is also to be understood that many of such activities are merged into the culture and then the distinction between even more complicated. When Madan says that secularism is falling down in India, although I agree with his statement, I also do not see any other alternative nor did he…

It was the first time that I heard and watched this movie---Sita sings the Blues. This animated movie won the best-animated feature on the Annecy International animation festival, and it also got the award nomination of the independent spirit of the 24th American independent filmfest. There is no doubt that this film is a wonderful film otherwise it cannot win and get these honors and awards and the focus from so many people around the world. But there are still many people think this film is a…

state. It will be their main strategy from January 2016 till elections in 2017. We believe it will increase our vote bank in a short span of time,” says a VHP leader on the condition of anonymity. This ploy is likely to challenge the Samajwadi Party government in a significant manner. Any communal unrest will tarnish its image further, as law-and-order is a state subject. The saffron organizations will continue to raise the communal bogey while BJP will pass the buck to the state government. …