Holy Hindutva

You would be forgiven easily if you claimed that you first heard the term 'Hindutva' in the late 1980s; that is the time that it was popularized and more importantly, politicized. But the concept is hardly new - Vinayak Damodar Savarkar coined the term when he wrote his treatise 'Hindutva: Who is a Hindu?'. Published under the name of 'Mahratta', the work was smuggled out of prison and espoused a never-before-seen promotion of Hindu social and political consciousness. Savarkar defined a 'Hindu' as a patriotic inhabitant of 'Bharatvarsha', venturing beyond simply a religious identity. It was meant to be a cultural and civilizational concept, and its supporters today repeat that fact, and even claim that it is not religious fundamentalism.

One could be forgiven to see the religious fundamentalism in 'Hindutva' today. Its biggest supporters have been the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), who can easily be described as far-right wing Hindu nationalists, who have even suffered the ignominy of actually being banned. The first time was in 1975 by Indira Gandhi, during her Emergency setting spree, but the second was under far graver circumstances - the aftermath of the 1992 Babri Masjid destruction (even though the actual destruction was done by members of an RSS offshoot, Vishva Hindu Parishad).

Hindus have enjoyed a large majority (always greater than 80%) in India and while communal relations can hardly be described as ideal, there are only a few flash points where there were serious internal red alerts. In such instance, the ears of the Hindu nationalists perked up, after hearing about the Shah Bano case.

When the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Shah Bano being granted alimony from her ex-husband, the Muslim community rose up in protest as they felt an encroachment on the Muslim Personal Law, which does not require the alimony payment. The then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, personally picked the case and took it to legislature, where the SC's decision was overturned and a new law was passed allowing Indian Muslims not to have the exact same laws as other Indians, for certain cases. Hindu Nationalists leapt in protest, at what they felt was 'pseudo-secularism' as well as a Congress electoral ploy to get the 'Muslim Vote'. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in its fledging state at the time, and took upon getting a 'Uniform Civil Code' for all Indians as part of its mandate.

The BJP has been described by few as the political wing of the RSS, and many fear that it is hardcore Hindu fundamentalist. However, after their stints in power, some of these fears were allayed and most now view it as a Centre-Right party. It derives its ideology from the RSS without a doubt, but also has proved to be extremely progressive (and arguably successful) in matters of the economy and national security.

'Hindutva' is the campaign slogan often used by party leaders - LK Advani, Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh are key proponents of it. While the BJP quite recently (Feb 2009) made the claim that if it would return to power, it would rebuild the Ram temple at Ayodhya, its leaders were quick to point out that it would not do so if its coalition (NDA) came to power. Re-building the temple is part of its ideology and denying the chance, would alienate some of its hardcore supports. However, the BJP is practical enough to know that the chances of it forming an absolute majority with no coalition support is practically impossible, and leaving the situation at status quo would not alienate a crucial support base - the moderate, educated middle class Hindus. A point to be noted here, is that most of the BJP's support comes from the upper castes. Even though the BJP is trying to promote lower caste politics (a la the BSP), it does not contribute to the present day social democratization of India.

The 'Hindutva' concept is a loosely defined one, with parties alternating their vocal preferences for it. While the RSS is seen as the ideological head, other crucial parties for the 'Sangh Parivar' include the previously mentioned VHP, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. There are also other political parties outside the Sangh Parivar, who are associated with Hindutva. They include the Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the Bharatiya Janshakti party, the Shiv Sena, and even the Sikh religious party of the Shiromani Akali Dal.

As mentioned before, the BJPs committment to Hindutva varies according to timing. It is aware that a far right Hindu nationalist party would have no electoral chance, and hence is actually quite centre-right in its functioning. However, it cannot distance itself from the far-right actions and statements of the RSS and the Shiv Sena, as it tied to them ideology. The difference can even be seen from leader to leader. Vajpayee stood for moderate Hindutva, while LK Advani is quite prominent. Narendra Modi is 'Hindutva's poster boy, yet Arun Jaitley seems hardly connected to it.

Herein lies the quandary of Modern Indian Politics. The BJP cannot strongly associate or dissociate itself from 'Hindutva' because Identity Politics still matter. At the same time, economic performance and governance cannot be ignored, and it makes winning the support of a majority to be a highly complex decision of which factors to concentrate on. Circa 2009, the BJP needs to make its positioning clear. The premier Opposition party needs to re-find its winning formula.