After the mandate of the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Indian parliament has become a common ground where the voice of opposition also has a space. In the debate following the president’s address, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition, responded by outlining the various problems facing the country. One part of his speech, which probably has been expunged from the proceedings related to the nature of Hinduism. As per him Hinduism is based on truth and non violence. “India is a country of non-violence, and not of fear. All our great men have spoken about non-violence and overcoming fear.” Gesturing towards the benches of BJP MPs, Gandhi added: “Those who call themselves Hindus speak all day about violence, hate and untruth.”

Since then many protests by pro-establishment sadhus have taken place against Rahul’s statement. In Ahmedabad the Congress office was attacked. The RSS combine is spreading that Rahul has called all Hindus violent etc. On the other side Rahul has elaborated that what he means by Hinduism is based on truth, non violence and love. RSS ideologues are saying that Nehru to Rahul Gandhi’s ideology was out of touch with current social realities and they have pandered to minority issues only to preserve their "vote bank".

Different interpretations of Hinduism

From the INDIA bloc many have stood with Rahul’s elaboration of the humanistic view of Hinduism. There is some overlap between the use of the word Hinduism and Hindutva currently. As former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that his views on Hindutva were the same as Rahul elaborated (about Hinduism). RSS ideologues also criticize Nehru for starting his work of Sampradayikata Virodhi Abhiyan (Campaign Against Communalism) as being directed against the RSS.They also take Nehru on for opposing India's first President Rajendra Prasad inaugurating the Somnath temple in Gujarat as it went against the country's secular principles. They claim that RSS' Hindutva, though seeming to derive from the precepts of Dayanand Sarswati, Swami Vivekanand, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Shyama Prasad Mukerjee, had little to do with the philosophy of  Dayanand Sarswati and Swami Vivekanand, except to use their names as a cover for their ideology.

As Hinduism is not a prophet-based religion many interpretations of the same have been used. The very word Hindu is missing in the Hindu scriptures, Vedas, Upanishad, Gita or the Manusmriti. The word was coined by those coming from the west of the Sindhu (currently Indus) river, for whom the word s was used in a restricted manner and S they pronounced as H. Sindhu became Hindu and the word initially denoted the area spread from Sindhu river to the sea. The earlier religious tendencies prevalent here were Vedic religion (which also can be labeled as Brahmanism), Ajivikas, Tantra, Nath, Shaiva, Buddhism and Jainism.

Later the word Hindu became a conglomerate of different spiritual tendencies (barring Buddhism and Jainism) prevailing then. Except Brahmanism the other tendencies were called Shramans. The main difference between Brahmanism and Shramanism was the presence of caste and gender hierarchy in Brahmanism. The construction of the term Hinduism has been well explained by historian D. N. Jha in his presidential address at the Indian History Congress 2006. He pointed out “Of Course the Word (Hindu, added) was in use in pre colonial India, but it was not before late eighteen or early 19th Century that it was appropriated by British scholars.” Since then it has found wider use. From here on the term was used for all in the subcontinent except for those who were Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Muslims and Christians.

Evolution of Hinduism

As there were no rigid boundaries, the Brahmanical stream projected Vedas and Manusmriti as sacred scriptures. The major understandings of Hinduism also varied. For B R Ambedkar, Hinduism is dominated by Brahmanism and the caste system. That’s what led him to burn Manusmiriti. Mahatma Gandhi had on other hand called himself a "Sanatani Hindu" and wrote in Young India on 6th October 1921 “Hinduism tells everyone to worship God according to his own faith or Dharma, and so it lives at peace with all the religions.” A unique concept for interfaith relations and pluralism. Now Rahul Gandhi, while talking about Hinduism, harped on truth, love and non violence as being the core of Hinduism.

The word 'Hinduta' was coined by Chandranath Basu in 1892 and linked  with the idealism of attaining spiritual heights. At the political level the word Hindutva was introduced and defined by Veer Savarkar in his book ‘Essentials of Hindutva’. (1923) His Hindutva is based on the Aryan race, this Holy Land (from Sindhu to Seas) and Culture (Brahmanical). Savarkar was very critical of Buddhism’s non violence and attributed India’s weakness to non violence propagated by Buddhism. 

RSS takes off from Savarkar and regards Islam and Christianity as "foreign religions''. The RSS has made violence as part of its creed and its head office has an exhibition of various armaments which are worshipped on the Dussehra day. RSS shakhas have spread hate by demonizing Muslim kings like Allauddin Khilji, Babar, Aurangzeb and glorified Hindu kings like Rana Pratap, Shivaji and Prithviraj Chauhan. It had also been critical of the national movement as people of all religions participated in it. It claims to represent the Hindus, and it selectively takes up the emotive issues like temple destructions, cow slaughter, beef eating, and forcible conversions. The hate spread by the RSS was pointed out by none other than Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home MInister, after banning the RSS in 1948, “All their speeches were full of communal poison, as a final result of the poison, the country had to suffer the sacrifice of the invaluable life of Gandhiji.”   

While leaders like Mahatma Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi have expanded and enhanced the humane aspect of Hinduism, the Hindutva fraternity are seen by its critics to have treaded the path of hate and violence. While Ambedkar opposed the Brahmanical domination of Hinduism,  Mahatma Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi have sought to give an inclusive and pacifist thinking to Hinduism.  

(The writer, a former IIT Bombay professor, is Chairman, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Mumbai. Views expressed are the author's own.)