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Nationalism (Hinduism)

  • Living reference work entry
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Hinduism and Tribal Religions

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Definition

Hindu nationalism is an ideology that is based on “Hindutva” or the Hindu way of life that draws from ancient traditions of Indian philosophy as well as historical and concurrent religious narratives and images. Having emerged during the colonial rule in India, it is strongly entrenched in contemporary political discourse both organizationally and electorally.

Narratives of Nationalism

Nationalism simply understood is an ideology of the nation. It is a systematic set of ideas which seeks to foreground a particular identity of the individual/community seeking a fit between state, nation, and nationalism. However as the three are not always congruent, it leads to the possibility of what Smith [1] calls “recurrent nationalisms.” Further, nationalism is not always associated with an “actual” existing nation but may promote the possibility of a “potential” nation. Clearly then, the narrative of nationalism plays a critical role in determining the way national and political...

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References

  1. Smith AD (2000) Theories of nationalism: alternative models of nation formation. In: Liefer M (ed) Asian nationalism. Routledge, New York

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  2. Zavos J (2000) The emergence of Hindu nationalism in India. Oxford University Press, New Delhi

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  3. Bhatt C (2001) Hindu nationalism: origins, ideologies and modern myths. Berg, Oxford/New York

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  4. Satyamurthy TV (1997) Indian nationalism: state of the debate. Econ Polit Wkly 32(14):715–721

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  5. Kumar R (2017) Padayatras and the changing nature of political communication in India. Studies in Indian Politics 5(1):32–41

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  6. Hansen (1999) The saffron wave, democracy and hindu nationalism in modern India. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Radhika Kumar

Authors
  1. Radhika Kumar
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Anthropology, The University of North Texas Dept of Anthropology, Denton, Texas, USA

    Pankaj Jain

  2. The Graduate Theological Union , Berkeley, California, USA

    Rita Sherma

  3. Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for the Study of Comparative Reli Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India

    Madhu Khanna

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Kumar, R. (2018). Nationalism (Hinduism). In: Jain, P., Sherma, R., Khanna, M. (eds) Hinduism and Tribal Religions. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_241-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1036-5_241-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1036-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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