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| {{Hinduism small}} | |||
| '''Hindu Rāshtra''' (Hindi : हिन्दू राष्ट्र, approx. ''Hindu Nation'') is a socio-cultural concept and a political agenda aimed at making India a ] nation, culturally and politically. The concept is central to political ], and is heralded by the ] (BJP), a nationalist political party, the ] (VHP) and the ] (RSS). | |||
| Advocates of Hindu Rashtra contend that Hinduism's strong legacy of tolerance for diverse philosophies and reform movements, and the root idea of universal human brotherhood is the reason for the country's vibrant fabric of diversity, and thus every person, community and institution is perenially Hindu. In that sense, it is contended that the term ] in this case is a ] for all indegenous Indian religions and philosophies. In that vein, some advocates of the "Hindu Rashtra" prefer to think of the concept as inclusive of religions that evolved in India (such as ],] and ]), and thus are believed to be compatible with Indian social ethos. | |||
| The adherents of the Hindu Rashtra philosophy claim that the English term ''nation'' is only a crude translation of the Sanskrit term ''rāshtra''. Their term ''rashtra'' does not mean a European-type nation with one ethnicity, one common history, one language and one religion. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| ===Early concept=== | |||
| The concept of Hindu Rashtra is based upon beliefs about the origins of human civilization, religion and culture in India. It was conceived way back in the early 20th century, that the vast majority of the population of the country is Hindu, an identity merging diverse religious communities and cultures including ]s, ]s and ]s, as well as the more distinguished ] and ] communities. It was argued that since the word "Hindu" literally is derived from the word "Sindhu," (the ]), it applies to any inhabitant of the land of and beyond the river Indus, i.e. India. | |||
| The proponents of Hindu Rashtra argued that ] is the ancient system of religious philosophy and social traditions developed in Bharat by a combination of ] and ] belief systems and philosophies. It has been continually added to by migrant races, and has spawned famous reform movements like ], ] and ], all of whom were classified as separate religions only with the advent of the British census system and the colonial policy of "]." | |||
| ===Partition of India=== | |||
| ''See Also'': ] | |||
| The rise of ] and the ] to create an Islamic nation ] gave ''"Hindu Rashtra"'' a more political meaning: it became the heading of an agenda to preserve the Hindu majority in India, politically and culturally. | |||
| To some great visionary hindu leaders like ], "Hindu Rashtra" meant a nation free of the Muslim and Christian peoples; it includes the pre-islamic India, now the heavily populated by Muslims and separated as Pakistan and Bangladesh. They were known to praise ], they condoned Islamic genocide of Hindus and loath ], the leader of the ] a man they blame for lack of vision by conceding a Pakistan to extremist Muslims, on the premise that Hindus and Muslims can't live together and yet allowing muslims who voted for a pakistan to stay in India. Savarkar in fact is widely considered to be behind Gandhi's (who was a stubborn dictator in his own non-voilent way ) death in 1948, and his group, the ] is without a good reason blamed with masterminding the murder of thousands of Muslims in the partition riots. When the known fact is for a 1000 yrs all over the world it is the muslims who could never integrate into an civilized society. | |||
| During the partition, over 10 million Hindus and Sikhs were forced to leave their ancestral homes in what became Pakistan and Bangladesh almost overnight; more than 1 million were killed in the violence. The advocates of Hindu Rashtra argue that while the Muslims who left India also suffered from violent attacks, they at least obtained a new state all to themselves (non-Muslims make up less than 4% of all Pakistanis; Hindus are less than 2% of that figure), while the Hindus simply lost a chunk of their ancestral motherland in the batting of an eyelid. These 10 million Hindus and Sikhs had lived only months ago in complete peace with their Muslim neighbors. | |||
| ==Modern times== | |||
| To modern advocates and Hindu nationalists, the ''"Hindu Rashtra"'' is here to defend: Assortement of Hindus make up more than 60% of Bharat's population, and thus naturally dominate and define the country's cultural, economic and political life. But the secular Congress Party and Leftist politicians are accused of mollycoddling the sizeable Muslim minority for votes, and ignoring the coercion of poor Hindus to convert to Islam and Christianity, the influx of illegal Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, separatist movements and the waves of Islamic terrorism in Kashmir that has struck many major cities as well. | |||
| ==The Agenda of the Hindu Rashtra== | |||
| *Banning of bovine and supine ], possibly extending to ban ] and ] all together (] and other bovine animals are sacred in the ] religion). | |||
| *Establishing a ] for all citizens (Muslims and Christians enjoy a separate civil justice code based upon their religious values), abrogating Article 357 of the ] (granting Muslim-majority state of ] a special status which disallows any non-Kashmiri citizen from settling in Kashmir). | |||
| *Building a ''Ram Janmbhoomi Temple'' ("the birthplace of ] temple") at the site of the destroyed ] in ]. | |||
| *Resurrecting of ancient Hindu temples around India (especially at the holy cities of ] and ]) which where destroyed by the Muslim invaders and super-imposed by mosques. | |||
| *Ban on religious conversions. | |||
| *An aggressive war on Islamic fundamentalism and ]. This call may extend to a full war with Pakistan based on the Kashmir territorial dispute and the Islamic terrorism being supported by Pakistan in Kashmir and other major parts of the country. | |||
| ==Criticism== | |||
| Based on events in History that are centuries old, the advocates of Hindu Rashtra want that India's 150 million odd Muslims and Christians convert into Hinduism or be expelled from India or be done so by force. This is akin to the Moroccans demanding that Spain be recoverted into an Islamic country or Iran (an Islamic republic) ethnically cleanse the Baha'i | |||
| Jewish minority, based on past events in History. Critics of the Hindu Rashtra argue that it will not be an easy thing to implement. The Hindus are a heterogenous group and do not necessarily have clear cut guidelines on religious practices. The religious practices of Hindus are so diverse that let alone having a Uniform Civil Code for all the religions, it would not be possible even for Hindus to evolve common practices amidst themselves. Critics of the Hindu Rashtra claim that Hindus and other religions like Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism are not sufficiently similar so as to warrant the label "Hindu" . This, they opine, reflects on several facets of Indian politics, where caste-based parties are believed to enjoy more political clout than those espousing Hindu nationalist sentiments . They opine that attempts to portray Hindus as a homogenous group is an attempt to garner political mileage by using them against "foreign" minorites like Muslims and Christians. They opine that many of the Muslims were once lower caste Hindus who converted to escape the caste-system of their former religion (a claim disputed by preponents of the Hindu Rashtra, both lay and academic). The critics of Hindu Rashtra point to the Balkans and the failed state of Yugoslavia as an example of nationalism based on exclusion of minorities. | |||
| ==Response to the Criticism of the Hindu Rashtra== | |||
| Based on historical events , some of the more radical advocates of Hindu Rashtra want India's 150 million odd Muslims and Christians to repatriate to Hinduism, since they claim that they are descended from Hindus and they believe that most were forcibly converted, or have a reduced status in Indian society along the standards of Islamic ideas of "]" of non-muslims such as Hindus, Jews, Zoroastrians and Christians implemented in Islamic countries. Advocates of the idea of the "Hindu Rashtra" claim that Muslims & Christians cannot have double standards, and cannot be awarded special treatment in detriment to the Hindu majority.Plus, they claim that granting a Hindu Rashtra is fair compensation of centuries of violent atrocities against Hindus by Muslims and Christians . Also, Christian Missionary activities in India have been known to get violent and aggressive against Hindus as part of a deliberate agenda of cultural ], and Hindus merely wish the right to practice their religion in peace. They claim that the muslim and christian minority need to bear the burnt of their own policies. Many muslims still believe they enjoy the feudal status they did during the ] and have committed hate-crimes and perpetrated atrocities against Hindus. They advocate that hindus, generally known for their tolerance and pluralism, have retaliated against muslims in self-defense. Furthermore, they believe that the establishment of the ] is a secular act, and that the present "pseudosecularist" left wing regime in India is mollycoddling the Islamic and Christian minority vote bank against Hindus by providing them with preferential treatment. Advocates of the Hindu Rashtra point out that absolute "secularism" is not a necessary prerequisite to democracy, as said by Western Scholar Daniel Pipes . Advocates of the Hindu Rashtra point to the success of ] as a democratic Jewish State as an example of how to implement a democratic Hindu Rashtra. | |||
| ==External Links== | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * Article in The New York Times | |||
| * | |||
| * Article in The New York Times | |||
| * Article in Dalit Voice | |||
| * Story in Deccan Herald newspaper on dispute between Hindu community and Jain community over a temple | |||
| * Story on Yahoo News on a Hindu Woman marrying a Snake! | |||
| * Story on Yahoo News about Hindu women anger against nude Jains | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *], ] | |||
| *], ], ] | |||
| *], ], ], ], ] | |||
| ] | |||
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