The Colonialism of Hindutva

Romila Thapar

Romila Thapar, celebrated historian, has been telling us repeatedly that Hindutva is carrying with its whole heart the legacy handed down by the colonial British. Today’s The Hindu newspaper carries an interview with the veteran historian. Let me highlight (with my own additions and accentuations) some salient points here.

The core framework of Hindutva for understanding India’s past is built entirely upon the 19^th century British colonial theories. The British saw India as two warring nations: Hindus and Muslims. Hindutva accepted that perception hook, line, and sinker. The tragic irony is not just that Hindutva borrows its basic framework from a country that it hates (thus revealing its utter lack of imagination and/or intelligence), but also that the framework is too simplistic for a country like India that is a complex web of overlapping social, economic, and regional interactions.

The Aryan invasion theory is another interesting takeover from the British. According to the British, the Aryans came from outside of India and made themselves the dominant power, making effective use of racial tools. Hindutva merely inverted the invasion part of that. The Aryans are the genuine owners of India, according to them. Because they’re the only people in India who consider the land their pitrubhumi (fatherland) and punyabhumi (holy land).

Thapar says that what Hindutva did was merely to flip the British theory and retain its racial roots. A lot of Indians remain outside Hindutva’s definition of citizens and the definition is brazenly racial. That it is utterly false is too obvious to merit mention here.

Thirdly, the British saw India as a stagnant society victimised by the Mughals until the British came and rescued it. Hindutva retains the same narrative and goes on to destroy Muslim places of worship which were supposedly built over Hindu temples by the Mughals. The same old tunes of destruction and victimisation have been taken over from the British colonialists.

In short, Hindutva is just another version of the British colonialism. Hindutva changed the actors and the language, but left the colonial script untouched. It claims to exile the colonizer, yet rules by the very map the colonizer drew. Hindutva’s is a nationalism that seeks a pure indigenous past, while wearing a uniform tailored in 19th-century London.

What should the leaders of Hindutva do if they really wish to make India a great nation?

Understand and put into practice the core Vedic philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The world is one family). Instead of defining Indian identity by such obsolete concepts as pitrubhumi and punyabhumi, it could define Indianness through shared constitutional values, civilisational pride, and mutual civic duty.

Secondly, stop imitating the Semitic rigidities such as a single narrative, specific holy lands, and homogenous identity. Accept the country’s infinite wealth of diversity in diet, deities, rituals, languages, etc.

Thirdly, move from grievance to governance and growth. How long are some one billion people expected to sit and weep over historical wrongs such as past invasions and temple destructions? Instead, channelise cultural pride into solving contemporary crises. Any ideology will die soon unless it meets current needs. Rhetoric stops to enchant after a while.

Finally, bring about the necessary social reform. For centuries, the greatest internal threat to Indian society has been the oppressive caste system. Stop treating the Dalits, Adivasis, and backward communities as the colonisers treated Indians.

Ultimately, the question is whether Hindutva intends to work for all Indians or only a section of them.