The Hindu vs ‘Hindutvavadi’ Debate
Asia News Agency
Rahul Gandhi’s bold enunciation of the difference between being Hindu or ‘Hindutvadi’ (supporter of Hindutva, or Hindu nationalism) at a public rally at Jaipur on December 12, just months before important state assembly elections, writes Badri Raina (taught English at Delhi University) “is tantamount to a significant political initiative……Rahul underscored the distinction that whereas the Hindu seeks after the truth (satya), the ‘Hindutvadi’ pursues state power (satta) by hook or by crook…..Rahul suggested how while being Hindu means invoking shanti (peace that holds the entire universe in healthful balance), the ‘Hindutvadi’, rankled by his fear of the ‘other’, commits to acts of hate and violence…..”
Where Rahul may have erred, writes Raina “is in characterising all those present in the Jaipur audience as Hindus. Clearly, such characterisation incurs the risk of subscribing to the right-wing propagation that all those who reside in India (Bharat) are Hindus…..Nor is the statement that Hindutva raj needs to be ended and Hindu raj restored a happy one…..”
Despite this, writes Raina “Rahul’s Jaipur speech must mark a watershed in releasing a new confidence in the debate about the so-called universality and desirability of Hindutva….”
Hindus and ‘Hindutvavadis’ are both Hindus
Joining the debate is Pratap Bhanu Mehta (contributing editor, The Indian Express). In the aftermath of the overwhelming ascendancy of Hindutva, writes Mehta “there is a temptation to counter it by juxtaposing Hinduism to Hindutva, the virtuous Hindu to the nasty ‘Hindutvavadi’. Rahul Gandhi has been harping on this theme. But this is also a new cultural zeitgeist (spirit of the age). The temptation is understandable. It is better to align Hinduism with moral values” than to be critical of what Hindutva represents. Mehta argues one cannot “define people away by saying they are not a true Hindu.” So, ’Hindutvavadis’ are Hindus like any other.
“The spouting of a claim ‘real Hinduism is tolerant’ has become an easy meme. It has to be enacted in its exemplarity. Ramkrishna Paramhansa (Hindu mystic and religious leader in 19th-century Bengal) enacted this, living out several religious lives without contradiction or sacrifice of his devotion to the Mother. Gandhi could stand in the middle of unspeakable violence and exercise moral force, not just understanding but bearing the pain of others……Where are the ‘tolerant’ Hindu leaders who would show their brethren a moral mirror…….Following the ‘Hindu trope’, our leaders manage to show their cowardice more than their leadership.”
