historical origins of hindutva

7/23/2019 Historical Origins of Hindutva

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OR

THE HINDU NATIONALISM

DR. KURUVICARA


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HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF HINDUTVA OR HINDU CULTURALNATIONALISM

DR. J. KURUVACHIRA

Introduction

It is generally believed that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is the originator of the

Hindutva ideology and Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar is responsible for its

systematisation. But in this chapter we make an attempt to trace the roots of Hindutvabeyond its generally accepted sources. Hence our contention in this chapter will be that

the phenomenon of Hindutva has a long history and that the inspiration for the ideology

goes at least as far back as the 8 thcentury A.D. to Adi Sankara of Kalady, Kerala, South

India. We will also argue that Hindutva has drawn much inspiration from Italian

Fascism and German National Socialism (Nazism) of the early decades of the last

century so that the qualification of Savarkar as the originator of the ideology needs to

be reconsidered.

1. The search for the roots Hindutva

In order to understand Hindutva, it is necessary to make a brief survey of the history

and the development of the ideology. Subash Anand notes that Chandranath Basu

(1844-1910) was probably the first person to use the term Hundutva1. As already

mentioned, the origin and systematisation of the ideology is generally attributed to

Savarkar and Golwalkar. But to limit the history of Hindutva only to these two figures

is to miss the important landmarks in the development of the ideology. In fact, if we

probe into the history of Hindutva, we will discover that, as a phenomenon, it was

already present in the Brahmanic hegemonisng of Adi Sankara and in the development

of Hindu consciousness cultivated by the leaders of the Hindu renaissance as early asthe 18

th century A.D. In other words, it is to be emphasised that though the word

Hindutva is of recent origin, the phenomenon is not. For example, Savarkar claims that

the history of Hindu nation is traceable at least from some 5000 years ago2. Elsewhere

he argues that Hindu history dates from two thousand years B.C3. He further says that

the reign of Chandragupta Maurya who together with Chanakya drove the invading

armies of Alexander and Seleucus, and that of Hindu Ashoka who ruled over an

integrated and strongly centralised Bharatiya Rahstraneed to be considered as Golden

1See S.ANAND, The Emergence of Hindutva, 108.

2See V.D.SAVARKAR,HinduSanghatan, 48.

3See V.D.SAVARKAR,HinduSanghatan, 35.


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CH: II THE ROOTS OF HINDUTVA 50

Epochs of Hindu history4. What is implied here is that there was already a Hindu

national consciousness some 5000 years ago and more especially during the reign of

Chandragupta and Ashoka. However, we dismiss this view as an interpretation which is

greatly exaggerated and without any foundation in history. History tells us that 5000

years ago there was neither a Hindu nation nor a Hindu history nor a Hindu

consciousness, and that Chandragupta Maurya was strongly associated with the Jaina

tradition and Ashoka with Buddhism5. What Savarkar attempts here is to fabricate a

Hindu history based not on facts, but on imagination.

2. Adi Sankara (8th century A.D)

It may be argued that the first stirrings of Hindutva can be traced to Adi Sankara of

Kalady who was a towering personality of India in the 8th

century A.D, and who

possessed an unparalleled intellectual acumen, singular organisational ability and

unmatched religious zeal. Using these qualities he changed the course of Indias

religious history in favour of what we today know as Hinduism.

Sankara composed several philosophical and theological treatises, commentaries on

the Upanisads, Bhagavadgita and Brahma Sutras of Badarayana and numerous

devotional hymns. He advocated the philosophy of non-dualism (Advaita Vedanta) and

systematically developed an aggressive attitude towards all religions and systems of

thought that differed from his, especially Buddhism. It is said that in the early centuries

of the Christian era, Buddhism was the most prominent religion of India with an

unambiguous popular support. Ninian Smart observes that during the first thousand or

more years of the Christian era, there was a mixed Hindu-Buddhist Indic culture 6. He

further notes that at one time much of the subcontinent of India was Buddhist and it

even threatened to replace Hinduism as the major faith7. If that threat had become a

reality, the religious history of India would have been quite different from what it is

now. But with Sankara the tables turned in favour of Brahmanism and he emerged as

the champion of a newreligion and philosophy based on the Upanisads, namely, the

Advaita Vedanta.

T.M.P. Mahadevan observes that the age which saw the advent of Sankara was not

unlike our own. It was a period of spiritual and social discord, conflicts and strife

among the various schools of philosophy, and hostility among the different religioussects. The leaders as well as the followers of the various faiths used religion as a

4See V.D.SAVARKARHistoric Statements,205-206.

5See R.THAPAR, Cultural Pasts, 422-423.

6See N.SMART,Religions of Asia, 35.

7See N.SMART, The Religious Experience, 49. This view is corroborated by L.P.Sharma who says:

Buddhism, at one time, provided religious unity to Indian people because there had been a time when

Buddhism prevailed all over India as the most dominant religion. L.P.SHARMA, Ancient History of

India(1981), 85, as cited in A.D.MATTAM,Religions, 106.


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weapon of aggression. It is said that there were as many as seventy-two religious

schools in the country, creating factions8.

Sankara was at the helm of a great religious revival in order to purify and consolidate

the Brahmanic religion. As the foundation for this undertaking, he strictly adhered to

Brahmanic orthodoxy and considered the Vedas as eternal and absolutely infallible9. He

developed a philosophical system founded on the Vedas more precisely the

Upanisads called Advatia Vedanta. His Brahmanic orthodoxy was further manifested

in his limiting the study of the Vedas only to men of the three higher castes

(Brahamana, Kshatriya and Vaisya) thus excluding women10. He also expressly

prohibited Sudras from the study of these sacred texts11. Further, he consistently upheld

theLaw ofManuand claimed that whatever Manu said was medicine for mankind12

.

Thus, Sankara made the reformed Brahmanism a religion of the elite and practiced

intolerance towards the rest. This has resemblance to the Hindutva of today, which is

basically an ideology of the Hindu elite, and an instrument of intolerance towards non-

Hindu religions and secular ideologies of India.

Karl H.Potter says that Sankara considered Buddhism as one of the worst heresies

and criticised it with greatest vehemence13

. Frank Whaling commenting on Sankaras

role in the Brahmanic revival says that Sankara not only refuted the Buddhists

negatively, he also played his part in the Hindu Renaissance14. Bal Gangadhar Tilak

says: his [Sankaras] brilliant intellectual power refuted the Jain and the Buddhist

doctrines which had then gained ground on all sides and established his own Non-

Dualistic (advaita) doctrine15. A.D.Mattam reminds us that Buddhism and Jainism

began to decline in Tamizhakam (South India) from the 8th

century A.D. due to the

vigorous propaganda led by missionaries like Sankara16. Natalia Isayeva notes that

Sankara was an outstanding religious philosopher, a mystical poet, an orthodox

theologian and a shrewd reformer, and he through his preaching and disputing

opponents accounted for the ultimate ousting of Buddhism from India in about the eight

century A.D., and the revival of Brahmanism17

. In this sense, Sankara may be

considered as the founder of what we know today as Hinduism and the father of

Hindutva, though in the 8thcentury A.D, the terms Hinduism and Hindutva were not

in vogue.

2.1. Sankaras opposition to non-Advaitic religions and worldviews

8See T.M.P.MAHADEVAN, Sankaracharya, 1-2,32.

9See VSBh I, 1. 3.28-29.

10See VSBhI, 1.3.25,

11See VSBhI,1.3.36.

12See VSBhI, 2,1.1.

13See K.H.POTTER (ed.),Encyclopaedia,vol. III, 13.

14See F.WHALING, in N.ISAYEVA, Sankara and Indian Philosophy, 87.

15B.G.TILAK, Gitarahasya, 18.

16See A.D.MATTAM,Religions, 63.

17See N.ISAYEVA, Sanakra and Indian Philosophy, 2.


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Sankara advocated the exclusive religion of the Advaita Vedanta. His writings are

replete with arguments to disprove, defeat and invalidate views held by Other religions

and systems of thought whether heterodox or orthodox such as, Buddhism,

Jainism, Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisesika, Purva-Mimamsa, Lokayata (Materialists),

and the like. Surendra Nath Dasgupta observes: In Chapter II of Book II [of the

Vedanta Sutra Bhasya] he [Sankara] tries to refute the Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya-

Vaisesika, the Buddhist, Jaina, Bhagavata and Saiva systems of thought18. Karl

H.Potter says: in theBrahmasutrabhasyaSankara considers at length Samkhya. In that

work too, there are extended criticisms of Nyaya, Vaisesika, Yoga, Buddhist, Jain, and

Carvaca theories19. Y.K. Menon notes: So effective were Shankaras attacks that he

practically wiped them [the non-Advaitic religions and worldviews] out20

.

The Vedanta Sutra Bhasya which is undoubtedly the most authoritative and most

influential work of Sankara bears ample proof of his anti-Other attitude. Though the

English language used in the translation of above work is quite old-fashioned, for the

sake of substantiating our argument, we furnish below some typical examples of

Sankaras effort to demonstrate that Other religions and worldviews i.e. all non -

Advaitic systems are untenable because they are either false or inferior to Advaita

Vedanta.

Against Buddhism: Buddha by propounding the three mutually contradictory

systems, teaching respectively the reality of the external world, the reality of ideas only,

and general nothingness, has himself made it clear either that he was a man given to

make incoherent assertions, or else that hatred of all beings induced him to propound

absurd doctrines by accepting when they would become thoroughly confused []

Buddhas doctrine has to be strictly disregarded by all those who have a regard for their

own happiness21.

We have thus refuted both nihilistic doctrines, viz. the doctrine which maintains the

(momentary) reality of the external world, and the doctrine which asserts that ideas only

exist. The third variety of Buddha doctrine, viz. that everything is empty (i.e. that

absolutely nothing exists), is contradicted by all means of right knowledge, and

therefore requires no special refutation22.

Against Jainism: Having disposed of the Buddha doctrine we now turn to the

system of the Gymnosophists (Gainas)23.

On account of the impossibility (of contradictory attributes) in one thing, (the Gaina

doctrine is) not (to be accepted)

24

.it follows that the Gaina doctrine of bondage and release is untenable25.

18S.N.DASGUPTA,A History of India Philosophy, vol. I, 434.

19K.H.POTTER (ed.),Encyclopaedia, vol. III, 19.

20Y.K.MENON, The Mind of Adi Shankara,112.

21VSBhI, 2.2.32 [p.428].

22VSBhI, 2.2.31 [p.427].

23VSBhI, 2.2.33 [p.428] (Emphasis added).

24VSBhI, 2. 2.33 [p.428].

25VSBhII, 2.2.35 [p.432].


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Against Samkhya: it is incumbent on thorough students of the Vedanta to refute the

Sankya and other systems which are obstacles in the way of perfect knowledge26

.

The doctrine of the Sankhyas, moreover, is full of contradictions. [] That their

doctrine, moreover, contradicts Sruti27.

there is some danger of men of inferior intelligence looking upon the S ankhya and

similar systems on requisite for perfect knowledge, because those systems have a

weighty appearance, have been adopted by authoritative persons, and profess to lead to

perfect knowledge28

.

so the Sankhyas cannot escape the reproach of absence of final release resulting

from their doctrine29.

Against Yoga: by the refutation of the Sankya-smrti the Yoga-smrti also is to be

considered as refuted30

.

Thereby the Yoga (Smrti) is refuted31.

For all these reasons the Sankya-yoga hypothesis about the Lord is devoid of

foundation32.

Against Nyaya-Vaisesika: This fundamental assumption of the Vaisesikas we

declare to be groundless33

.

The arguments of other systems Vaisesika, etc. contradict scripture and thus

are fallacious34.

And as the (atomic theory) is not accepted (by any authoritive persons) it is to be

disregarded altogether35.

The reason on account of which the doctrine of the Vaisesikas cannot be accepted

have been stated above. That doctrine may be called semi-destructive (a semi-

nihilistic)36.

Against Purva-Mimamsa: T.M.P. Mahadevan says that, the most powerful and

perverse orthodox school at the time of Sankara was Purva-Mimamsa. According to this

school, the purport of the entire Veda is ritual and not the non-dual Self (Atman-

Brahman)37

. Hence Sankara directed pungent criticism against it arguing that those who

deserve final emancipation should not perform sacrifice but seek highest knowledge

through meditation38. Sankara says: Scripture, he [Gaimini] argues, proclaims

26VSBhI, 2.,2.1 [p.363].

27VSBhI, 2.2.10 [p.376].28

VSBhI, 2. 2.1 [p.363].29

VSBhI, 2.2.10 [p.381].30

VSBhI, 2.1.3 [p.296].31

VSBhI, 2. 2.3 [p.296].32

VSBhI, 2.2.38 [p.437].33

VSBhI, 2.2.15 [p.391].34

Brhadaranyakabhasya, in K.H.POTTER (ed.),Encyclopaedia, vol. III, 201.35

VSBhI, 2.2.17 [p.394].36

VSBhI, 2.2.18 [pp. 400-401].37

See T.M.P.MAHADEVAN, Sankaracharya, 25.38

See, VSBhII, 4.3.14.


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injunctions such as the following one, He who is desirous of the heavenly world is to

sacrifice. [] Now it is clear that a deed cannot effect a result at some future time39

.

actions, on the other hand, which passes away as soon as done, has no power of

bringing about results at some future time40.

Against Lokayatikas or Materialists: Unlearned people and the Lokayatikas are

of the opinion that the mere body endowed with the quality of intelligence is the Self41

.

the Materialists consider intelligence to be a mere attribute of the body 42.

Against Bhagavatas: manifold contradictions are met with in the Bhagavata system,

with reference to the assumption of qualities and their bearers [] Moreover, we meet

with passages contradictory to the Veda, [] For this reason also the Bhagavata

doctrine cannot be accepted43

.

Against Saivas: The Mahesvaras (Saivas) maintain that the five categories, viz.

effect, cause, union, ritual, the end of pain, were taught by the Lord Pasupati (Siva) to

the end of breaking the bounds of the animal (i.e. the soul); Pasupati is according to

them, the Lord, the operative cause. [] your doctrine remains faulty all the same; for

the Lord is no longer a Lord even if he is actuated by intrinsic motives only44.

2. 2 Absolute validity of Advaita Vedanta

Sankara categorically affirmed the absolute truth of non-dualism (Advaita). He says:

our system, [Advaita], founded on the Upanisads, is not open to any objections45; my

(the Vedanta) doctrine [] is free from objections46

; Hence the [Vedanta] system

founded on the Upanisads is in every way unobjectionable47. In this way Sankara

argued for the exclusive truthof Advaita Vedanta over all other religions and systems of

thought. According to him, they were either false or inferior to Advaita. Thus Sankara

was clearly aggressive and intolerant towards Other religions and worldviews. In other

words, no contradictions were acceptable to him, and consequently he cultivated an

anti-Other attitude towards them48.

3. Hindutva elements in Sankara

39VSBhII, 3.2.40 [p.182].

40VSBhII, 3.2.38 [p.181].

41VSBhI, 1.1.1 [p.14].

42VSBhII, 2.2.2 [p.368].

43VSBhI, 1.2.45 [pp.442-443].

44VSBhI, 2.2.37 [pp.435-436].


46VSBhI, 2.2.10 [p.380].


48Note that we are not arguing here whether Sankaras philosophical doctrine is right or wrong, but

that his attitudetowards others was intolerant.


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The strategies that Sankara employed in order to combat Other religions and

worldviews of his time are quite similar to those of the proponents of the Hindutva of

today. First, Sankara upheld the eternal nature, supreme authority and infallibility of the

Vedas. He says: The Veda, [] which is eternal and the source of knowledge, may be

allowed to have for its object firmly established things, and hence the perfection of that

knowledge which is founded on the Veda cannot be denied by any logicians of the past,

present, or future49. The centrality of the Veda in Sankaras system of thought is

reminiscent of the importance of Vedic religion and Vedic sciences in Hindutva

ideology, manifested in the emulation of a Vedic Golden Age.

Second, in order to defend Brahmanic orthodoxy, Sankara opposed Other religions

and worldviews through his philosophical and theological debates, both heterodox

(nastika) and orthodox (astika) alike50

. It is said that he undertook extensive tours in

order to engage in debates with thinkers and religious leaders who differed from him so

that he could defeat them and establish the supremacy of Advaita. A typical example is

his victory over Madana Misra of the Mimamsa school and his learned wife Bharati 51.

S.G. Mudgal says: He moved from place to place with his mendicant disciples;

wherever he went he held discussions with his philosophical adversaries, and by his

relentless logic won them over to his viewpoint. It was a case of he came, he talked and

he conquered52. Hence Mahadevan has rightly called Sankaras journeys through the

length and breadth of India Tours of Victory53

and whirlwind campaigns54

. Some

scholars attribute as many as 400 literary compositions to Sankara55, and these were

written in defence of his ideology. This may be compared to the intellectual attacks of

the proponents of Hindutva on the minority religions and secular organisations, like,

Muslims, Christians, Communists and other secularists, through re-writing of history,

polemical discourses, demonising the opponents, diffusion of Hindutva ideas through

print and electronic media and projecting the minority groups as anti-nationals and

opponents of Indian culture.

Third, Sankara as a wandering monk visited all the important places of pilgrimage

and centres of learning in India, accompanied by a large number of disciples and

followers, and wherever he went he preached the doctrine of Advaita and won many

followers. Mahadevan opines that Sankara went around India probably thrice, and

wherever he went people felt uplifted. V. Seturaman considers the tours of Sankara as

journies around Bharat56.

49VSBhI, 2.1.11 [p.317].

50See V.SETURAMAN, Sankara Bhagavadpada), 94; T.M.P.MAHADEVAN, Sankaracharya, 31-

39.51

See Y.K.MENON, The Mind of Adi Shankara, 114-115; T.M.P.MAHADEVAN, Sankaracharya,

27-28.52

S.G.MUDGAL,Advaita of Sankara, 187.53

See T.M.P. MAHADEVAN, Sankaracharya, 25.54

See T.M.P.MAHADEVAN, Sankaracharya, 30.55

See N.ISAYEVA, Sanakra and Indian Philosophy, 2.56

See V.SETURAMAN, Sankara Bhagavadpada,92.


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Sankara would not have achieved such a phenomenal success in his effort at reviving

Brahmanic religion without a considerable degree of support from the kings and rulers

of that time, and this implies a certain politicisation of religion. Y.K.Menon endorses

our view when he says: He [Sankara] now left Banaras on a country-wide tour,

accompanied by several pupils and much paraphernalia. This bears testimony to his

fame and popularity, which is said to have brought him the patronage of several royal

personages and chiefs, and in the end his travels earned him the title the best of

peripatetic teachers57

.

Arun Shourie observes: He [Sankara] is received with the same reverence

everywhere [] Sudhanva attends his discourses along with court nobles; when

Sankara visits the royal court, the king washes his feet and makes him sit on an elevated

dias; in Nepal in the North he is received as a royal guest58

.

The Chola and the Pandya kings of the South were among the rulers who were

converted to Sankaras philosophy59

. The activities of Sankara are also reminiscent of

the proselytisation and re-conversion campaigns carried out by the Hindutva leaders and

organisations in India. Besides, it reminds one of the efforts of Hindutva politicians and

leaders of Hindutva organisations to mobilise the masses both for political and religious

ends using such methods as, rath yatras, (chariot processions) especially those of

L.K.Advani trisul (trident) distribution, processions with Ganges water, invitation

for kar seva, call to build Ram temple at Ayodhya and so on.

Fourth, Sankara established Brahmanic institutions called maths or monasteries in

many parts of India at the head of which were placed sankaracharyas ordained to

exercise a spiritual authority, which resembled an ecclesiastical structure60

.

Commenting on the purpose of the monasteries (maths) C.Jaffrelot says: This ascetic

reformer [Sankara] of the eighth century responded to the spread of Buddhism by

establishing monasteries (math) in the four corners of India61

. Mahadevan says that in

order to safeguard the cultural unity of India based on Advaita, he also founded ten

orders of monks that belong to the Advaita tradition62

. These organisations have a

similarity with such Hindutva organisations as the Hindu Mahasabha, RSS, VHP, BJP,

Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, which advocate Hindu culture as the sole culture of India.

Fifth, Adi Sankara is said to have established four important maths (monasteries) at

the four cardinal points of India Sringeri in the South, Badri in the North, Puri in the

East and Dwaraka in the West63. S.G. Mudgal says: He [Sankara] was the most active

57Y.K.MENON, The Mind of Adi Shankara, 113 (Emphasis added).

58A.SHOURIE,A Secular Agenda, 9-10.

59See Y.K.MENON, The Mind of Adi Shankara, 119.

60See C.JAFFRELOT, The Hindu Nationalist Movement, 2.

61C.JAFFRELOT, The Hindu Nationalist Movement, 2.

62See T.M.P.MAHADEVAN, Sankaracharya, 51.

63See K.H.POTTER (ed.),Encyclopaedia, vol. III, 16; N.ISAYEVA, Sanakra and Indian Philosophy,

81. Adi Sankara established four peethas (monsteries) in the four corners of the country, under the

leadership of his four chief disciples. They are: a) Sharada Peetha, Sringeri (Karnataka), b) Kalika

Peetha, Dwaraka (Gujarat), c) Govardhan Peetha, Puri (Orissa) and d) JyotirPeetha, Joshimath near


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amongst the Indian thinkers, traversing the length and breadth of India from Badrinath

in the Himalayas to Cape-Comerin in the south64

. N.K.Reddiar notes: A tradition

current all over India is that Sri Sankaracharya founded institutions in the four corners

of India, famous Char Dams to which Dasnami ascetics go on pilgrimage, on foot,

even to this day. The institutions in the northern part of India are pointed out as situated

in the three corners (West, North and East). [] there are two important Sankarite

Institutions in the South India, one at Sringeri and the other at Kanchi65. V.Seturaman

affirms: If one completed the pilgrimage to all the 4 [sic] places, one would have

literally gone through the length and breadth of India. The ideal of a visit to all the 4

centres of pilgrimage carried with it an emphasis of the oneness of the country, and

Sankara was, perhaps, the first to cover all the four places and leave his foot-prints at

each place66

.

Some contemporary proponents of Hindutva claim that Adi Sankara entertained the

idea of a Hindu nation already in the 8th

century A.D. The argument is based on the

fact of his establishing the mathsat the four corners of India, which according to the

advocates of the theory, provided the graphical unity for the supposed Hindu nation.

L.K.Advani is a vocal advocate of such a theory. He says: No more evidence was

needed than the life of Adi Sankara to prove that India has always been regarded as one

country, []. Before independence, India was not regarded as a nation and was thought

to be a geographical entity. The life of Adi Sankara proved the British theory a myth.

Adi Sankara walked from Kaladi in Kerala to distant Kashmir and from Dwaraka to

Puri67.

A similar view is held also by Arun Shourie. He says: Adi Shankaracharya traversed

the country [.] Thepoints that are debated are matters of concern from one end of the

country to the other68. Golwalkar says: he [Sankara] roamed on foot from one end of

the country to the other69

.

Considering what has been said above, it becomes clear that, Sankaras attitude

towards non-Advaitic religions and worldviews was an antecedent to the present-day

Hindutva ideologyor better, it was the same phenomenon in disguise. Hence, there is

nothing that prevents us from maintaining that Sankaras ultimate aim was to li quidate

all the religions and worldviews opposed to his, especially Buddhism. A similar

tendency is manifested by the Hindutva, and its main target is to do away with the

minorities of India, especially Islam, Christianity and Communism. Therefore, we may

maintain that, in many respects, Adi Sankara was the first Hindutva ideologue.

Badrinath (Uttaranchal). Two upa-peethaswere also established in Kashi (Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh) and

Kanchi (Tamil Nadu). See The Legacy of Shankaracharya , 26.64

S.G.MUDGAL,Advaita of Sankara, 187.65

N.K.REDDIAR, Some Judicial References, n.p.66

V.SETURAMAN, Sankara Bhagavadpada, 93.67

Adi Sankaras Life, 10.68

See A.SHOURIE,ASecular Agenda,9-10.69

M.S.GOLWALKAR,Bunch of Thoughts, 70. We read again: he [Adi Sankara] embraced the hard

life of renunciation and walked the four distant corners of the land with the message of national

resurrection.Ibid., 458 (Emphasis added).


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4. Shivaji and the Maratha confederacy

The roots of Hindutva can also be traced to the Hindu consciousness of the

seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of the Christian era, which was partly the outcome

of the efforts of Shivaji (1627-1680) and the Maratha confederation to check the

advancement of Muslims70

. However, writing three centuries after Shivaji, Savarkar

interpreted and exaggerated it as a war for the establishment of an independent Hindu

empire in India71. Thus Savarkar regarded the rise of the Marathas as the most important

movement of Hindu liberation in Indian history. He writes: The Maratha Confederacy

was the only Hindu power which had shown itself capable of achieving this [political

independence of Hindus] noble task72. Thus, more than anyone it was Savarkar who

exalted the Marathas as the founders of a Hindu nation. In his view, the third battle of

Paniput (1761 A.D) marked the definitive close of the Mughal period73. Prior to

Savarkar, Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920) also projected Shivaji as a National Hero.

In fact, in his English paper Mahrattaof 24 June 1906 he wrote an article entitled Is

Shivaji not a National Hero?74. He also promoted Shivaji and Ganapati festivals, Anti

Cow-Killing Society and Gymnastic Society with the view to awaken Hindu

consciousness among people. However Yvon Ambroise doubts whether there was a

consciousness of Hindu nationalism at all in that75. It is also argued that Savarkars view

on the importance of the Marathas as the pioneer of Hindu liberation movement owed

much to his own Maratha ancestry and upbringing in Maharashtra76

.

But one should not exaggerate the importance of the Marathas as the sole champions

of Hindu religion and culture. For instance, in South India, the Vijayanagar kingdom,

which flourished from 1336 to 1567 A.D, was equally noted for championing the cause

of Hindu culture and civilisation and resistance to the onslaughts of Islam.

Here it may be worth remembering that, the fact of Hindutva drawing inspiration

from Shivaji implies certain ethical ambiguities. Ivan Strenski says that there is

ambivalence involved in the Shivaji myth as manifested especially in his treatment of

the Mughal General Afzal Khan whom he met with concealed deadly weapons. Shivaji

at the first opportunity murdered Afzal Khan on the very spot where they had agreed to

talk peace. Thus, according to Strenski, Shivajis role stands for duplicity, deception and

failure to keep his solemn word, and this makes Shivaji seem cowardly anddishonourable little better than a sneak thief77. Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke says that


71See V.D.SAVARKAR, Hindu-Pad-Padashahi, 4,16,38.

72See V.D.SAVARKAR, Hindu-Pad-Padashahi, 25. See also ID.,Hindu Sanghatan, 51-53.

73See N. GOODRICK-CLARKE,Hitlers Priestess, 49.

74See Selected Documents of Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, vol.4, 25-28.

75See Y.AMBROISE, Hindutvas Real Agenda, 13.


77See I.STRENSKI, Legitimacy, Mythology, 10.


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Savarkar in presenting Shivaji as a Hindu hero overlooked the latters robber state and

asserted that Maratha ascendancy was not a parochial movement78

.

Shivaji, the hero of many Hindutva ideologues, in his dealing with the Mughal

General Afzal Khan adhered to the maxim of end justifies the means. Such dubious

ethics is not uncommon among many proponents of Hindutva, especially those who

wield political powers, like A.B. Vajpayee, L.K.Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi,

Narendra Modi, Bal Thackeray, Uma Bharati to mention a few who know the art

of manipulating religious sentiments of the Hindus and utilising violence, vandalism,

militancy, crime and deception for political gain. The destruction of the Babri mosque

(December 1992), the Bombay riots (December 1992- Janaury 1993) and the Godhra

and post-Godhra events (February-March 2002) are some of the notorious examples of

this.

5. Thinkers and organisations of Indian renaissance

Hindutva has its roots also in the new interpretations given to Hinduism by many

Hindu leaders since the Indian renaissance of the 18 thcentury A.D., first of all, in order

to reform the religion from within, and secondly to defend it against external forces like

Christianity, Islam and the British. Thus the philosophical foundations of Hindutva can

be traced back to the writings of outstanding personalities of modern India like Swami

Dayananda Saraswati (1824-1883), Benkim Chandra Chatterji (1838-1894), Bal

Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920), Swami Shraddhananda (1857-1926), Madan Mohan

Malavia (1861-1946), Swami Vivekananda (1862-1902), Balakrishna Shivaram Moonje

(1872-1948), Aurobindo Ghosh (1872-1950), Keshav Baliram Hedgewar (1889-1940),

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (1901-1953), V.D.Savarkar (1902-1966), M.S. Golwalkar

(1906-1973), and so on. Among these, Savarkar and Golwalkar deserve special mention

because they are the thinkers who gave the ideology of Hindutva a definite form and

systematisation. There were also Hindu organisations and movements like, the Arya

Samaj, Ramakirshna Mission, Hindu Mahasabha, thesuddhi(re-conversion) movement,

the cow protection movement, and the like, which have also contributed greatly to the

Hindutva consciousness in different degrees.

Here it is to be observed that practically all the figures mentioned above who

contributed to the moulding of the ideology of Hindutva belonged to the Hindu elite i.e.,the Hindu upper castes. Even today, this situation has not undergone any major change,

and Hindutva continues to be primarily an ideology of the Hindu elite.

6. Italian Fascism and German National Socialism

To what has been said above, we need to add the influence of European Fascism on

Hindutva, especially since the 1930s79. The origin and growth of Hindu nationalism was

facilitated also by European colonialism, English education, Christian missionaries,




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contact with other nations, and especially the subtle influence of such forms of

nationalism as the Italian Fascism and German National Socialism (Nazism), to which

several of the modern Indian thinkers and political personalities were linked either

openly or discreetly. C.Jaffrelot claims that in the 1930s publications like Hindu

Outlook and Mahrattapraised the three well known dictators of Europe: Franco of

Spain, Mussolini of Italy and Hitler of Germany80

.

Savarkar was inspired by Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872) and Giuseppe Garibaldi

(1807-1882)81

. He translated Mazzinis biography into Marathi and founded an

organisation called Abhinav Bharat (Modern India) modelled after Mazzinis

Young Italy. He compared Mazzini to Ramdas and Garibaldi to Shivaji. Savarkar also

showed his familiarity with many principles of German National Socialism. For

example he says: The Germans are the nation in Germany and the Jews a Community.

[] Even so the Hindus are the nation in India in Hindustan, and the Moslem

minority a community82

. Further, he approved the German occupation of the

Sudetenland on the grounds of common linguistic, cultural, historical and racial

affinities83 and upheld the theory of the survival of the fittest84. Referring to the

Hindus who are supposed to be the descendents of the Aryan race Savarkar speaks of

the virility and the staying out power of our [Aryan] race85.

Golwalkar also found inspiration for his concept of Hindutva in the German ethnic

nationalism propounded especially by Johann Kasper Bluntschli, and other Western

political scientists like John W. Burgess, Raymond Garfield Gettell, Arthur N.

Holocombe86and Adolf Hitler. In fact, it was mainly from Hitler that Golwalkar drew

inspiration for his racial theory in his concept of Hindutva87

. In the organisational aspect

too Golwalkars ideology shows some affinity to Nazism88. R.L.Dhooria says: It [RSS]

has a certain sinister similarity or similitude with the mindless faith of the German

Youth of Hitler89

. He adds: The RSS is not materially different from its Nazi cater-

cousin90. In fact, when Golwalkar assumed leadership of the Hindu Mahasabha in 1940

the organisation developed a paramilitary group known as the Ram Sena91

.


81See H.SRIVASTAV,Five Stormy Years, 33.

82V.D.SAVARKAR,Hindu Sanghatan,84. See alsoIbid., 73-74, 94-85.83 See V.D.SAVARKAR, Hindu Sanghatan, 73-74. See also N.GOODRICK-CLARKE, Hitlers

Priestess, 59.84

See V.D.SAVARKAR,Hindu Sanghatan, 36, 121-128.85

V.D.SAVARKAR, Hindu Sanghatan, 37. An article by M.Casolari has a separate section entitled

Savarkar and Nazism. See M.CASOLARI, The Fascist Heritage, 106-141.86

See C.JAFFRELOT, The Hindu Nationalist Movement, 53-54.87

See C.JAFFRELOT, The Hindu Nationalist Movement, 55. See also N.GOODRICK-CLARKE,

HitlersPriestess, 60.88

See C.JAFFRELOT, The Hindu Nationalist Movement, 61.89

R.L.DHOORIA,I was a Swayamsewak, 39.90

R.L.DHOORIA,I was a Swayamsewak, 39.91

See C.JAFFRELOT, The Hindu Nationalist Movement, 74.


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Pampering Indians by the Nazis was widely known in the days of Hitler92. The

Bombay Sentineldated 4 July 1938 reports: The Nazis, however, do not overlook the

millions of Hindus in India. They are told that they are Pure Aryan, a race which the

Nazis are trying to purify and preserve. Even the Indian Maharajas and Nawabs are

flattered whenever they visit Germany. Thousands of rupees are spent every week in

India, all for misguiding the Indian people93

.

As already mentioned, B.S.Moonje, a prominent RSS leader, personally met the

Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini in Rome on 19 March 1931, visited some

important military schools and educational institutions and got acquainted with the

BalillaandAvanguardistiorganisations. Moonje wrote in his diary that the keystone of

the fascist system is indoctrination of youths, rather than education94

. In 1934 a close

relationship was established between the Italian Institute for the Middle and Far East (a

State-sponsored institution) and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta,

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of the political party Jana Sangh95

.

It is said that the All India Forward Bloc which was formed by Subhas Chandra Bose,

also tended to favour Fascism and Hitlarism96. Bal Thackeray is a self-possessed

admirer of the Nazi leader97

. P.S.Jha says that Ashok Singhal is an open and avid

admirer of Adolf Hitler98. Arun Shourie also has a fair knowledge of Hitler and German

Fascism, and he employs it to attack the Communists in India99.

The glorification of Adolf Hitler in one of the textbooks brought out by the NCERT

in 2002 is also another example of the admiration of the Hindutva ideologues for Hitler.

In fact, in the textbook Hitler is presented as a hero and a nationalist and as a person

who stood for socialism and nationalism100

. R.L.Dhooria, who was once a member of

the RSS organisation, says that some of the RSS functionaries extol Hitler as a superior

Aryan101.

92For a report on the Nazi activities in India during the days of Hitler see Clear Up Nazi Cob-Webs

(1938) 4-5; Ambitious Nazi German House (1938), 6; Nazi Propaganda in Indian Universities

(1939); Dr. Thomas Sukh (1940-1947); Indian Civilians (1945).93

Clear Up Nazi Cob-Webs, 5. In theBombay Sentinelof 15 July 1938 a British Indian reported: I

understand that the Germans are going to erect a building in Bombay, in which will be the office of the

Auslands-Organisation, Office of Landesgruppen-Fuehrer Dr. [Oswald] Urchs, the German Club and all,

other allied bodies. There will also be a Society called Germanic Association under the auspices of

which weekly lectures, debates, etc. will be arranged for the benefit of the Indian Public. [.] There

will be a permanent Nazi museum, where important Nazi literature, publications, newspapers, posters,

photos, paintings, etc., will be exhibited. Ambitious Nazi German House (1938), 6.94

See M.CASOLARI, Hindutvas foreign Tie-ups, 1032-1033.95

See C.JAFFRELOT, The Hindu Nationalist Movement, 51.96

See Potential Fifth Column (1942).97

See P.SAHGAL K.WALLA, Losing Control?, 23.98

See P.S.JHA, The Platform of Hate, 8.99

See A.SHOURIE, The Only Fatherland, 12-16,20-21.100

See B.S.PARAKH (ed.), Contemporary India, 10. See also S.GATADE, Enter Hero Hitler!, 21-

22.101

See. R.L.DHOORIA,I was a Swyamsewak, 2.


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L.K.Advani, the former Deputy Prime Minister of India was greatly inspired by Adolf

HitlersMeinKampf(My Struggle).Mein Kampfwas written by Hitler and published

in two volumes in 1925 and 1926 respectively. The original title of the work was Four

and a Half Years of Battle Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice: Account Settled.

But being too long-winded it was rejected by Max Amann, Hitlers publishing manager.

Mein Kampf is part his autobiography, part ideological tract and part blueprint of

Hitlers political action. The books is a very important source for understanding the

essence of Nazi ideology, Hitlers world view, the techniques of Nazi propaganda, the

plan for destroying Marxism and eliminating Jews from German society, the concept of

a future National Socialist State, etc102.

Kushwant Singh says that when Advani was imprisoned during the Emergency

declared by Mrs. Indira Gandhi in 1975, he spent his time studying the Nazi dictators

techniques. Advanis prison diary which was published as A Prisoners Scrap-Book in

1978 and republished 24 years later in 2002, has frequent references to Hitlers Mein

Kampfwhich he quotes to compare fascism with the draconian laws Mrs. Gandhi had

imposed on the nation103. Advanis book has a specific section entitled Anatomy of

Fascism104

. InA Prisoners Scrap-Book,Advani makes references also to other fascists

like, Mussolini of Italy and Franco of Spain105. All these clearly indicate the extent of

the influence of European Fascism, especially Nazism on L.K.Advani.

However, Kushwant Singh affirms that from Advanis subsequent career it is evident

that he imbibed more from studying the Nazi dictators techniques to gain credibility

among the masses than Mrs. Gandhi who probably never read anything on fascism.

Hitler realised the importance of targeting the Jews, the religious and racial minority to

focus the hatred of the majority. For Advani, the task of finding such a community in

India was not too difficultthe Muslims. For Advani it suited to cash in on the historic

resentment against the Muslims. His Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya was

designed to achieve that106.

In the recent past Advani has undertaken either alone or in collaboration with

others several rathyatras (chariot processions), suah as, the Ram Rath Yatra

(1990), the Janadesh Yatra (1993), the Suraj Yatra (1996), the SwarnaJayanti Yatra

(1997) and theBharat Uday Yatra(2004), traversing the length and breadth of India in

order to mobilise public opinion in favour of the BJP, and to indoctrinate the masses

with ideas of Hindu cultural nationalism. Advanis concept of rathyatra is largely an

inspiration from Hitler.Hitlers rise to power in Germany had much to do with his mass contact programmes

carried out especially through his extended tours on motor vehicles. For example, in

March 1932 he undertook a whirlwind tour of Germany on a motor vehicle

(Kraftwagan) lasting for eleven days. It was basically an election tour (Whalreise) in

which he addressed some 500,000 persons and met with many journalists, and

102See F.MCDONOUGH,Hitler, 58.

103See K.SINGH, The Next Heir to the Throne, 2.

104See L.K.ADVANI,A Prisoners Scrap-Book, 211-228.

105For example, see L.K.ADVANI,A Prisoners Scrap-Book, 65,180,192,213-214, 219-220,228.

106See K.SINGH, The Next Heir to the Throne, 2.


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propagated his ideas of National Socialism107. At the end of the election tour the

NSDAP papers proudly declared: tomorrow Hitler will be German President

(Reichsprsident). The election result which was announced on 13 March 1932

registered a spectacular victory for Hitlers party which emerged as the second largest in

the country with 11.3 million votes as against the 6.4 million votes it had secured in the

previous election108

. In less than a year later, in January 1933, Hitler became the

undisputed leader of Germany, thus ushering in the notorious era of Nazi dictatorship.

Mani Shankar Aiyar calls Advani a man with sincere commitment to a vicious

cause109. Advani clearly demonstrated his anti-Muslim attitude when he participated

in the demolition of the Babri mosque at Ayodhya on 6 December 1992. In fact, he was

one of the main accused in the case for criminal conspiracy, although in the midst of a

great controversy, the Rae Bareli court judgement in the Ayodhya case discharged him

in 2003110.

It may also be remembered that in 1999 Advanis picture was hanging in the rogues

gallery of the Simon Wiesenthal Centres Tolerance Museum, Los Angeles, for a few

months, in the company of Saddam Hussein and Idi Amin111.

7. Savitri Devi: a Hitler-admirer who made India her home

There were also persons of foreign origin who helped to develop the Hindutva

ideology. Maximiani Portas alias Savitri Devi was born in Lyon, France in 1905 as

daughter of a Greek father and an English mother112

. She became a Greek national in

1928, and disillusioned with Christianity she felt attracted to Greek Orthodox Church

and Byzantine culture. She was inclined to paganism and pantheism with strong anti-

Semitic prejudices113

. She left for India in 1932 in search of the roots of the Aryan

civilisation and regarded Hinduism as the only living Aryan heritage in the modern

world114

and as superior to all other religions115

. She adopted the name Savitri Devi and

accepted India as her home. She was convinced that she could rediscover a living Aryan

107See M.DOMARUS, Hitler Reden, vol.1, 96. In March 1932 Hitlers itinerary was as follows: 1

March in Hamburg; 2 March in Stettin; 3 March in Breslau; 4 March in Leipzig; 5 March in Bad

Blankenburg; 6 March in Weimer; 6 March in Frankfurt; 7 March in Nrnberg; 8 March in Stuttgart 9

March in Kln: 10 March in Dortmund; 11 March in Hannover. SeeIbid.108

See M.DOMARUS,Hitler Reden, vol.1, 97-98.109

See M.S.AIYAR, Advanis Second Yatra, 9.110

Critics maintain that the above judgment went against the weight of the entire evidence and violated

the law. For a detailed report on this issue see A.G.NOORANI, How Advani Went Scot-Free, 47-51.111

See K.ELST,Decolonisingthe Hindu Mind, 5 footnote 7.112

See N. GOODRICK-CLARKE,Hitlers Priestess, 7.113

See N. GOODRICK-CLARKE,Hitlers Priestess, 18-19, 21.114

Savitri Devi said: She [India] remains the last great country of Aryan civilisation. S.DEVI, A

Warning to the Hindus, 53; The last stronghold ofliving Aryan paganism is India.Ibid., 63.115

See S.DEVI,A Warning to the Hindus, 44.


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world only in contemporary India116. She championed the cause of Hindu nationalism

and neo-Nazi cult and lived and worked in Calcutta and called Hitler her idol. She had a

great admiration for the Brahmins whom she saw as a pure race, and championed the

Aryan-Nazi cause. By the late 1930 she was involved with Hindu nationalist

movements like the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS117. She advocated Hindu

militancy118

and the concept of purity of the Aryan race. N. Goodrick-Clarke notes:

For Savitri Devi, Hinduism was the custodian of the Aryan and Vedic heritage down

through the centuries, the very essence of India. In her opinion, Hinduism was the sole

surviving example of that Indo-European paganism once common to all the Aryan

nations119.

In early 1937 Savitri Devi met Srimat Swami Satyanand, the president of the Hindu

Mission in Calcutta and offered her services to him120

. Satyanand told her that Hitler

was an avatar(incarnation, descent) of Vishnu and that the disciples of Hitler were

the spiritual brothers of the Hindus121

. Goodrick-Clarke states that through the Hindu

Mission Savitri Devi came into contact with several Hindu nationalist groups including

the youth movement of B.S.Moonje, Hedgewars Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

and the Hindu Mahasabha whose president was Savarkar122

. She also met several Hindu

nationalist ideologues, most importantly Ganesh Damodar Savarkar, elder brother of

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. When Savitri Devi published her book entitled A Warning

to the Hindus(1939) Ganesh Damodar Savarkar wrote a foreword to it123

.

Savitri Devis book A Warning to the Hindus was highly regarded by the Hindu

Mission and was published in six Indian languages. Goodrick-Clarke notes that the first

chapter of Savitri Devis book Indian nationalism and Hindu Consciousness echoes

Savarkars Hindutva with her main thesis that Hinduism is the rational religion of

India and that there is no real India besides Hindu India. She was similarly

contemptuous of Congresss secular patriotism and asserted that there is no such thing

as an Indian civilisation which is not Hindu. The only civilisation for all India is Hindu

culture, and Indian national consciousness is nothing else but Hindu national

consciousness124.


117See S.BASU, The Spy who Loved Hitler, 54-55.118See S.DEVI,A Warning to the Hindus, 131, 135, 145-148.119

N. GOODRICK-CLARKE,Hitlers Priestess, 41.120



See N. GOODRICK-CLARKE, Hitlers Priestess, 45. Savitri Devi wrote in her introduction to A

Warning to the Hindus (1939): I thank also the President of the Hindu Maha Sabha, V.D.Savarkar, Dr.

Moonje and the other leaders and prominent members of the Hindu Maha Sabha with whom I had the

honour to come in touch, fro the inspiration I drew from them. S.DEVI,A Warning to the Hindus,15.123

See K.ELST, The Saffron Swastika, vol.II, 568. Goodrick-Clarke says that Ganesh Damodar

Savarkar, the brother of V.D.Savarkar, was Savitri Devis patron. He also wrote a foreword to her first

book on Hinduism. See N. GOODRICK-CLARKE,Hitlers Priestess, 51,59.124

See N. GOODRICK-CLARKEHitlers Priestess, 45.


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In Calcutta Savitri Devi met a Bengali Brahmin, Asit Krishna Mukherji, a publisher

with pro-German sympathies125

whom Koenraad Elst describes as approximately the

only Indian who could honestly be described as a Nazi and the only one with a

comprehensive knowledge of Nazi doctrine126. In 1935-1937 he published The New

Mercury, a Nazi mouthpiece founded by the German consulate in Calcutta127. In 1940

Savitri Devi married Asit Krishna Mukherji. Both worked clandestinely for the Axis

powers in Calcutta and though Mukherjis publication was banned during the Second

World War, he started publishing another magazine called The Eastern Economistwith

Japanese help128. Between 1943 and 1945 Savitri Devi and her husband also played a

small part in military espionage activities by entertaining British and American

servicemen stationed in Calcutta129

.

When Germany was defeated in the Second World War she was shattered and went

back to Europe in order to do what was possible for her to uphold the Nazi morale. But

she was arrested and imprisoned. For Savitri Devi, Hitler was the Western incarnation

of Lord Ram and Krishna the one who had come to save the world. After her release

she continued to be active among the neo-Nazi and European fascists. In 1958 she

published the book The Lightning and the Sun. In 1970 she returned to India and was

staying in the rooms of the Hindu Mahasabha office in Delhi and it is here that she

completed her autobiography which was her final statement on Aryan racist religion.

After the death of her husband in 1977 she continued to correspond with neo-Nazis in

Europe and America. She died in 1982 in London during a brief stop over before going

on a lecture tour to some seven or eight cities in the USA. She was 77 years old. Her

ashes were taken to the USA where they were placed in the Nazi hall of honour at

Arlington130.

Considering Savitri Devis contact with Indian nationalists like Swami Satyanand,

Subhas Chandra Bose, G.D.Savarkar131

, V.D. Savarkar and Hindu nationalist

organisations like the Hindu Mahasabha, the RSS, and the like, there is reason to argue

that her inspiration and support greatly contributed to the emergence and growth of

Hindutva in post-modern India. In fact, Goodrick-Clarke affirms that Savitri Devi was

well exposed to the ideas of V.D.Savarkar and she endorsed the views expressed in

SavarkarsHindutva132

. Goodrick-Clarke says:

Savitri Devis involvement with the Hindu Mission in Calcutta d rew her into the vortex of this Hindu

nationalist movement in the late 1930s. In her writings she shared V.D.Savarkars political concerns

about Hindu disadvantage and Muslim ascendancy. She endorsed his demand for a revival of Hindu

national consciousness as the only real form of Indian patriotism. She agreed with the thesis of


126See K.ELST, The Saffron Swastika, vol.II, 568-569.



129See S.BASU, The Spy who Loved Hitler, 55.

130See S.BASU, The Spy who Loved Hitler, 55.

131See K.ELST, The Saffron Swastika, vol.II, 568,

132See N. GOODRICK-CLARKE,Hitlers Priestess, 51,52,55, 57.


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Hindutvathat Hindu nationalism must derive its strength from a sense of shared history, culture, and

an awareness of India as ones Holy Land. And in return she was recognised as avaluable supporter by

the nationalists themselves133

.

Incidentally, BJP, the Hindutva political party, was launched in 1980 just two

years before the death of Savitri Devi. Did the Hitlers priestess inspire in some way

the founding of the BJP? Did she help to formulate its ultimate goals and the methods of

organisation? What was the nature of her relationship to its founder and the main office

bearers? Did she play a role in reviving some of the other Hindutva organisations like

the RSS, VHP, Shiv Sena? These questions call for further research.

Conclusion

In this chapter our major contention has been that the roots of the phenomenon of

Hindutva is ancient, though the term is modern. We have argued that Adi Sanakra

deserves the appellation of being the first Hindutva ideologue as he was the first

religious leader who clearly envisaged and effectively carried out an anti-Other policy

towards all non-Advaitic religions and worldviews, and conceived for the first time

though vaguely the concept ofa Brahmanic nation as early as the 8th

century A.D.

Hence the tendency among many contemporary Hindutva scholars to trace the origin

and development of Hindutva solely to two figures, namely, Savarkar and M.S.

Golwalkar though there is no doubt that their contribution was significant for

Hindutva calls for a re-thinking. Perhaps, the major contribution of Savarkar and

Golwalkar consists in their systematising the ideology and articulating in precise terms

the meaning of Hindu cultural nationalism and its organisational strategy. But even

here, it is European nationalism, especially Italian Fascism and German Nazism, which

is the model for the Hindutva concept of nationalism. Thus, the influence of Western

fascism and nationalism on Hindutva ideologues considerably reduces the originality of

Savarkar and Golwalkar in shaping the ideology of Hindutva.

Scholars have also traced the inspiration for Hindutva in the writings of some of the

thinkers and organizations of the Indian renaissance of the 18 th century A.D. But we

would consider them as agencies that have helped Hindutva to develop more of Hindu

consciousness than consciousness of Hindu nationalism.Therefore, we need to reiterate that, Adi Sankara deserves to be considered as the first

proponent of Hindutva for his cultivation of anti-Other attitude towards other religions

and worldview, and for promotion of Brahmanic consciousness among the people of

his time. We may also concede that in as much as Sankara was responsible for the

establishment of four mathsat the four cardinal points of India Sringeri in the South,

Badri in the North, Puri in the East and Dwaraka in the West it can be interpreted as

a forerunner of the modern concept of Hindu nationalism. Again, since Adi Sankaras

writings and philosophy have done much to shape modern Hinduism, he may deserve to

be considered as the founder of Hinduism as we know today. This argument will be

133N. GOODRICK-CLARKE,HitlersPriestess, 51.


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all the more significant when it is known that there is very little substantial link between

the ancient Vedic religion and the Hinduism of today, in spite of the frequent claims of

the proponents of Hindutva that Hinduism has unbroken links with Vedic religion.