Hinduism & Hindutva: Inclusiveness Vs Communalism
Hinduism is a religion which is the personal concern of every individual believer. Hindutva, on the other hand, is a political doctrine that departs fundamentally from the principal tenets of Gandhiji’s understanding of Hinduism. While Hinduism is inclusive of all ways of worship, Hindutva is indifferent to devotion and cares principally about identity. That obsession with communal identity divides India, and so is fundamentally unpatriotic.
We must continue to fight against this idea of ethno-religious nationalism, and prove that love and inclusivity remain at the heart of what it means to be a patriot. However hard Shri Mohan Bhagwat might try to redefine it, the simple fact is that it is entirely possible to be a Hindu and a ‘traitor’, and a Muslim and a ‘patriot’ — our national security archives are full of examples of each.
It was the Gandhian, Nehruvian, and Ambedkarite principles of secularism and acceptance of…