Hindutva: Exploring the Idea of Hindu Nationalism

'Closely argued and elegantly written, Hindutva examines the prehistory of India's most controversial political tradition. Critical but not polemical, it skilfully links the world of ideas to the world of action.' - Ramachandra Guha

The upsurge of militant Hindu nationalism in the recent past has brought to the fore questions of who a Hindu is, what Hinduism is and what Hindutva and Hinduism mean to Hindus. If Hindutva is a way of life, who are its followers? And for those who are, how necessary is it that its practice should prevail upon all others? These are questions of great relevance in today's India.

This revised edition of Hindutva, which includes a new essay and introduction, goes beyond the existing inquiry into Hindu identity, nationalism and culture, through the writings of thinkers Dayananda Saraswati, Sri Aurobindo, Swami Vivekananda and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. With characteristic academic rigour and research, Jyotirmaya Sharma offers us original insights into the intellectual traditions that have nourished political Hindutva. The book calls for revisiting those traditions in which Hinduism is seen as being more inclusive and self-critical, at times even of its own fundamental premises.

Author: Jyotirmaya Sharma
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 03/22/2016
Pages: 248
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 7.70h x 5.00w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9789351773979

About the Author
Sharma, Jyotirmaya: - "Jyotirmaya Sharma is professor of political science at the University of Hyderabad. His other recent publications include Terrifying Vision: M.S. Golwalkar, the RSS and India and Cosmic Love and Human Apathy: Swami Vivekananda's Restatement of Religion. He has also co-edited a volume with A. Raghuramaraju titled, Grounding Morality: Freedom, Knowledge and the Plurality of Cultures (2010). He has been fellow of the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Lichtenberg-Kolleg - The Gottingen Institute of Advanced Study, Germany, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla. The International House, Japan, awarded him the Asia Leadership Fellow Programme fellowship for 2008. Sharma also held senior editorial positions at The Times of India and The Hindu between 1998 and 2006, and continues to write columns for Hindustan Times and Outlook."

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