Hindu Rashtra is one of the most complex and misunderstood concepts of modern India. Intellectuals and opinion makers had divergent beliefs on this issue. There has been a historical significance as well as modern understanding of this concept that makes it a very widely debated issue on various print and visual media.
The concept of Hindu rashtra can be understood by understanding the meaning of the two words ‘Hindu’ and ‘rashtra’ separately. The term Hindu connotes not a particular religion, sect or a faith, but the culture, the traditions and the people. During the Vedic times, the Persians referred to the people inhabiting India as Hapta-Hindus. Later on the word ‘Hindu’ was used to refer to all nationals flourishing at that time. Since …show more content…
rashtra refers to a nation. It is commonly misinterpreted as a state. However a state and nation are two different things. State is entirely a political concept. It changes as the political authority shifts from one party to another, but the people and the Nation remain the same. Thus, combining the meaning of the two words we derive at a conclusion that the Hindus have been living on their common motherland for thousands of years. They have common forefathers, common saints and heroes, common values of life, common culture and traditions, common way of life, common history. They identify with these common factors and form the nation or the rashtra and these people can be described as belonging to the Hindu Rashtra. Thus Hindu Rashtra is more of a cultural and emotional concept than a religious or political …show more content…
Golwalkar, exclusivism and monotheism were incompatible with Hindu culture and he talked about religious pluralism. His religious and political philosophy is centered on the concept of India as a Hindu rashtra. Deendayal Upadhyaya, another RSS ideologue, asserted integral Humanism to be the core concept of Hindu Rashtra. Later thinkers and intellectuals of the RSS like K.S. Rao emphasized on the non-theocratic nature of the word “Hindu Rashtra”, which they believed was often ill interpreted, inadequately translated and wrongly stereotyped as a theocratic state.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that was founded in 1925 became one of the most prominent Hindu organizations with its influence ranging in the political and social spheres of India. The RSS portrayed itself as a social movement rather than a political party, and did not play central role in any of the Indian independence movements. However, the RSS ardently rejected the Congress policy of cooperation with the Muslims. Subsequently, in 1934, the Congress banned its members from joining the RSS, Muslim League Or Hindu
The concept of Hindu rashtra can be understood by understanding the meaning of the two words ‘Hindu’ and ‘rashtra’ separately. The term Hindu connotes not a particular religion, sect or a faith, but the culture, the traditions and the people. During the Vedic times, the Persians referred to the people inhabiting India as Hapta-Hindus. Later on the word ‘Hindu’ was used to refer to all nationals flourishing at that time. Since …show more content…
rashtra refers to a nation. It is commonly misinterpreted as a state. However a state and nation are two different things. State is entirely a political concept. It changes as the political authority shifts from one party to another, but the people and the Nation remain the same. Thus, combining the meaning of the two words we derive at a conclusion that the Hindus have been living on their common motherland for thousands of years. They have common forefathers, common saints and heroes, common values of life, common culture and traditions, common way of life, common history. They identify with these common factors and form the nation or the rashtra and these people can be described as belonging to the Hindu Rashtra. Thus Hindu Rashtra is more of a cultural and emotional concept than a religious or political …show more content…
Golwalkar, exclusivism and monotheism were incompatible with Hindu culture and he talked about religious pluralism. His religious and political philosophy is centered on the concept of India as a Hindu rashtra. Deendayal Upadhyaya, another RSS ideologue, asserted integral Humanism to be the core concept of Hindu Rashtra. Later thinkers and intellectuals of the RSS like K.S. Rao emphasized on the non-theocratic nature of the word “Hindu Rashtra”, which they believed was often ill interpreted, inadequately translated and wrongly stereotyped as a theocratic state.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that was founded in 1925 became one of the most prominent Hindu organizations with its influence ranging in the political and social spheres of India. The RSS portrayed itself as a social movement rather than a political party, and did not play central role in any of the Indian independence movements. However, the RSS ardently rejected the Congress policy of cooperation with the Muslims. Subsequently, in 1934, the Congress banned its members from joining the RSS, Muslim League Or Hindu