with Dayanand Saraswathi, a Hindu reformer and founder of the Arya Samaj; Sri
Aurobindo, a famed Hindu teacher and founder of the Aurobindo Ashram; and Savarkar,
Sharma (2003) argued that these four Hindus are the ‘founders’ of the Hindu nationalist
movement.
Varshney (2002) has outlined three forms of nationalism or the “three master
narratives” of Indian politics in the 20
th
century – secular, religious and caste nationalism.
India’s dominant ideology has always been secular nationalism, according to Varshney
(2002), who argued this was the ideological basis for the Indian Constitution and it’s
insistence on a secular republic. Over time, the secular nationalism has given way to
religious nationalism, both of the Hindu and Muslim kind. The latter reached its zenith in
1947 with appeals for a Muslim state, which was granted when India and Pakistan were
partitioned (80). But, Hindu nationalism has continued to grow in India, as stated before,
with its major spike in popularity and electoral success coming on the heels of the 1991-
1992 Babri Masjid demolition campaign. For Varshney (2002, 50), “Hinduism, according
to the Hindu nationalist narrative, is not only the religion of India’s majority community
but also what gives India its distinctive national identity; other religions must assimilate
to the Hindu centre.” Savarkar argued the same position in his original writings by
arguing that it was in fact ‘Hindutva,’ which was the true Hinduism, while Hinduism as
we know it was in fact a diluted concept (as quoted in Sharma 2003, 157). Basu et al
(1993) have also pointed out the grand myth of Hindu nationalist thinking that has
perpetuated itself to the point that many believe it is fact. The myth is the struggle
between Hindus and Muslims as the key battle and ideological difference that has shaped
all of Indian history. Furthermore, the two sides have been characterized as the “Hindu
patriots” protecting India from “foreign Muslim rulers.” (Basu 1993, 2).
9
Convention