Four icons who became Hindutva ideologues

Title: Hindutva: Exploring the Idea of Hindu tiolism; Author: Jyotirmaya Sharma

What was the common thread that united Hindu tiolists Dayanda Saraswati, Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekanda and Viyak Damodar Savarkar? With their thinking, discourse and writings, all four influenced new thinking among Hindus that eventually paved the way for the Hindutva as we know today.

Savarkar was no doubt the most vocal votary of Hindutva. But the other three contributed no less even as the world viewed them largely as Hindu reformers. With admirable academic research, Jyotrimaya Sharma, who is no Marxist historian, brings alive the intellectual traditions that have helped to nourish Hindutva ideology.

Dayanda (1824-83) founded Arya Samaj with a missiory’s zeal: There had to be rigid adherence to the Vedas, there could be no compromise on that. The Jains, Buddhists, Shaivites and Vaishvites had perverted the Vedic idea. Dayanda also rejected the reincartion theory - the very basis of Hinduism. The divine origins of the Vedas rested on the fact that they were free of error and axiomatic. All other “sres” had to be rejected including Bhagavat and Tulsi Ramayan. He did not spare Christianity and Islam either. “Dayanda’s extreme vision of a united, monochromatic and aggressive Hinduism is an inspiration to votaries of Hindutva today,” says Sharma, a professor of political science at the University of Hyderabad.

For Aurobindo (1872-1950), Swaraj was to be seen as the fil fulfilment of the Vedantic ideal in politics. After once taking a stand that ‘Mother’ should not be seen as the Mother of Hindus alone, he changed gears and began to take an aggressive stand vis-à-vis Muslims. (IANS)