ANANYA VAJPEYI

[Vinayak Damodar] Savarkar and his followers lionized Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler and sought to adapt elements of fascist politics to India …. Gandhi’s philosophy with its emphasis on nonviolence and tolerance stood in stark contrast to the divisive [anti-Moslem] vision of Hinduvta leaders and the two movements were often in conflict. Indeed … the man who assassinated Gandhi in 1948, was a follower of Savarkar.

Indian democracy has long been limited by colonial-era laws that restrict speech in the name of protecting religion. Religious groups routinely exploit such statutes to limit the freedom of expression that generally characterizes public life in the world’s largest democracy.

Sexist attitudes—in the United States as well as in India—make it harder for female scholars … to write freely, provocatively, and creatively about subjects that touch the raw nerves of cultural pride, historical memory, and group identity … particularly galling to patriarchal conservatives in India, focusing as it does on feminist undercurrents within Hinduism that undermine the authority of elite, upper-caste, male, and orthodox sections of Hindu society.

“Hinduism” is of relatively recent coinage; only since modern times has the single word been used to refer to what in reality is a huge variety of faiths, sects and cults.

Even some liberals appear willing to believe that despite his decades of involvement in Hindu nationalist causes, [Narendra] Modi embraced Hindutva mostly as an electoral strategy and the “real” Modi is not a divisive ideologue but a pragmatic, growth-oriented manager.

Indian democracy has long been limited by colonial-era laws that restrict speech in the name of protecting religion. Religious groups routinely exploit such statutes to limit the freedom of expression that generally characterizes public life in the world’s largest democracy.

“Hinduism” is of relatively recent coinage; only since modern times has the single word been used to refer to what in reality is a huge variety of faiths, sects and cults.

[Vinayak Damodar] Savarkar and his followers lionized Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler and sought to adapt elements of fascist politics to India …. Gandhi’s philosophy with its emphasis on nonviolence and tolerance stood in stark contrast to the divisive [anti-Moslem] vision of Hinduvta leaders and the two movements were often in conflict. Indeed … the man who assassinated Gandhi in 1948, was a follower of Savarkar.

Even some liberals appear willing to believe that despite his decades of involvement in Hindu nationalist causes, [Narendra] Modi embraced Hindutva mostly as an electoral strategy and the “real” Modi is not a divisive ideologue but a pragmatic, growth-oriented manager.

Sexist attitudes—in the United States as well as in India—make it harder for female scholars … to write freely, provocatively, and creatively about subjects that touch the raw nerves of cultural pride, historical memory, and group identity … particularly galling to patriarchal conservatives in India, focusing as it does on feminist undercurrents within Hinduism that undermine the authority of elite, upper-caste, male, and orthodox sections of Hindu society.