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The Philosophy of Hindutva and Bharatiya Janata Party: an Historical Context: JRSP, Vol The Philosophy of Hindutva and Bharatiya Janata Party: An Historical Context: JRSP, Vol. 58, Issue 1(Jan-March 2021) Amaria Atta,Amir Ali,Rao Shaid Mahmood KhanAhtasham Jan Butt The Philosophy of Hindutva and Bharatiya Janata Party: An Historical Contextµ Abstract This study attempts to understand the origin and growth of the BJP and its dynamic role in Indian politics from its establishment to date. The BJP has become India’s most popular political party and came into power a couple of times. This party is a right-wing party, and by using a philosophy of Hindutva( Hindu religious sentiments, slogans, symbols, and instilling hatred against non-Hindus particularly, Muslims, it gained popularity and power, especially in the general elections of 2014. The ethical policies of BJP have severe implications for India and South Asia. It is of immense importance to understand its background, organization, philosophy, leadership, and struggle which enabled the BJP to become the most powerful single political party in India by defeating seasoned and well- organized parties in India. This study tries to find the answer to the following queries: What were the factors responsible for the establishment of the BJP; what role did it play during the Indian freedom movement; what was its role as an opposition party and how it emerged as a successful political party which won elections.1 Keywords, Hindutva, RSSS, BJP, India, Muslims Introduction The Bharatiya Janata Party, a political party espousing extreme views of Hinduism or ‘Hindutva’, currently wields significant influence in the politics of India. In northern India, BJP has enjoyed comprehensive support from the higher caste. The BJP is the outcome of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) and reflects extreme Hindu patriotic positions right from its making in 1951, which was working as the political portion of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamseval Sangh) which is a pro-Hindu group.2 In northern India's Hindu-speaking regions, BJS was able to have a significant grip in 1967. During the next several years, the party was not able to get substantial recognition in national-level politics. Therefore in 1980, then the president of the party, Atal Bihari Vajpayee along with his three other companions took a crucial step in the polity history of India and established BJP, so the party took place formally in 1980. The party was split their protectors within the Janata coalition, where the leaders of the party wanted to stop the elected persons of BJS from participating in any RSS activities. That was the time, when the party with its new title as BJP, was able to get it recognized amongst the political parties of India, under the leadership of Lal Krishan Advani, Vajpayee, and Murli Manohar Joshi. BJP started to succeed in 1989 when it took advantage of anti-Muslim feelings through vocation for the creation of a Hindu Shrine at Ayodhya, a place in UP held sacred by the Hindus who claimed that Babar had destroyed the Babri mosque built at that holy site after the temple to their god Ram. By the year 1991, the BJP was able to increase its party-political plea by winning 117 chairs in the interior cavity of the Indian Assembly then captivating control in Dr Amaria Atta, Visiting Lecturer, History Department, GCUF, Faisalabad. Dr Amir Ali, visiting lecturer department of history, Education University Lahore. Rao Shahid Mahmood Khan, Assistant Professor, Department of Media Studies, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur Email: [email protected] Dr Ahtasham Jan Butt, Assistant Professor, GC, Narangmandi, Sheikhupura µ The material of the article is mainly taken from my Phd thesis submitted to History Depatment, PU, Lahore. Other authors in the paaper also contributed in the paper to devlop idea, story and provded technical support. 1 Muhammad Iqbal Chawla, “Reimagining the Role of Punjab in the Pakistan Movement: Punjab Perspectives”, Pakistan Vision, (HEC Category Y) Pakistan Study Center, University of the Punjab, Vol. 19, No. 1. Lahore. pp. 1- 16. 2 Charles Voysey, Lala Lajpat Rai, Arya Samaj, (London: Longman Green and Co., I915), 240-41. 76 The Philosophy of Hindutva and Bharatiya Janata Party: An Historical Context: JRSP, Vol. 58, Issue 1(Jan-March 2021) four conditions. The destruction of Babri Masjid in 1992 caused violence in India. In the 1996 elections BJP arose again as the main solitary gathering as well as in the 1998 elections, BJP formed government in the center with its allies for thirteen months. In the 1999 elections, BJP continued its government with its partners under the premiership of Vajpayee. During its last five years in office from 2014 on BJP has become the richest, largest, and most influential political party across the country. The party changed its behavior after the defeat in the 1984 election, first-time BJP participation. At that time the party decided to leave the concept of Gandhian socialism and positive secularism, which was adopted at the time of the party’s creation in 1980, and decided to go back to the Hindutva ideology of its precursor, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.3 Hindutva supported through conservative Hindu patriot helper association Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),4 generally viewed as the BJP's parent association, alongside its member associations, especially the Vishva Hindu Parishad. BJP ruled, including a combination of rules connecting to the cheap then promotion Hindutva a term promoted by Hindu patriot Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923, is the spiritual type of Hindu patriotism espoused by the BJP for India. The party has ideological and hierarchical connections to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh means a devoted organization that works throughout the country, is an Indian stiff, Hindu partisan, revolutionary offer association which broadly viewed by way of the leading association to decision gathering of India, the BJP. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the leading and pioneer of a considerable assortment of associations termed the Sangh, which is closest in all aspects to the culture of India. Established on September 27, 1925, the RSS is the world's leading fighting organization. However, it is the main thing in the world, whereas BJP is the chief philosophical collection in the world.5 In the early 20th century, British India saw the rising of some new ideologies and political entities on the Sub- continent. The RSS was one of those entities amongst the India National Congress besides the recently recognized, Muslim League in 1906. Indication demonstrates that the Hindu patriotic philosophies of Hindutva delivered the foundation for the formation of the RSS. Hindutva Philosophy Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, who defined and elaborated the Hindutva ideology in his Essentials of Hindutva, presented the underlying ideology of the RSS. In his book, while introducing the new concept of Hindutva, Savarkar has defined three pillars of a Hindu Nation: common blood, common holy ground, and a common culture.6 Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs are included in these nationalistic concepts. However, Savarkar excluded the Muslims from having any ties to the Indian lands. His ideas had many parallels with the Rassen ideology of the Nazis in Germany. Inspired by the Hindutva ideology, Keshav Baliram Hedgewar created the RSS in 1925 with initial motives to serve as a volunteer force for the Hindus of British India.7 The study also analyses the history of the RSS in addition to determine its ideological base. The study of the history of RSS may reveal the relations between the RSS, Indian politics, and the Indian military. Identifying these linkages, both direct and indirect, to Indian politics and the Indian army can provide greater insight into the RSS behavior and thinking. The analysis will focus on the influences which the RSS can have on Indian policy-making and military strategy. Finally, the review will highlight the significant security implications of this nexus for Pakistan.8 Origin of RSS 3 Ali Asghar, Communalism and Communal Violence in India: An Analytical Approach to HinduMuslim Conflict, (Delhi: Ajanta Publications, 1989), 264. 4 http://www.riazhaq.com/2015/12/indias-hindu-nationalists-going-global.html. 5 Christophe Jaffrelot, Hindu Nationalist Movement, (Columbia University Press, 1996), 11-79. 6 Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Essentials of Hindutva, (Hindi sahitya Sadan, 2003, 1st published in 1923), 11. 7 M.S. Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts, (Bangalor: 1996), 33-49. 8 https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/rss-crime-files-news-updates.636732/, 15 October, 2019. 77 The Philosophy of Hindutva and Bharatiya Janata Party: An Historical Context: JRSP, Vol. 58, Issue 1(Jan-March 2021) After coming back to Nagpur, Hedgewar sorted out the enemy of British exercises through the Kranti Dal (Party of Upheaval) besides took an interest in autonomy extremist Tilak's Home Law battle in 1918. As indicated by the authority RSS antiquity, he originated to understand that progressive exercises alone had been insufficient to topple the British. In the wake of understanding, I 1923the Hindutva of V.D. Savarkar joined the party in Nagpur, besides various party meeting Savarkar in the Ratnagiri jail in 1925, Hedgewar had been very affected through him, and he established RSS to fortify the Hindu civilization.9 Dr. Hedgewar had sensed long ago that sooner or later, the British had to leave the country and also sensed that as an independent nation, India would need the right kind of people. Dr. Hedhewar in his foresight wanted to create honest men with credibility and character, who would do their best make every effort to undertake the right actions in the various spheres of national life post-independence.10 Hedgewar accepted that a bunch of British had the option to lead over the massive nation of India since Hindus were separated, needed courage, and came up short on a metro character.
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