Hindutva and Secularism: Indian Perspective

Hindutva and Secularism happen to be two broad concepts, especially in the Indian context. Just as Hindutva cannot be taken without reference to Hinduism so does secularism as an indispensable component of Hinduism, since early times. Secularism could be construed as a category, like religion that is supposed to deliver freedom to human beings from social bondages. Problem arises when the issue of identity enters the equation through, either the conduit of historical-nationalist sensibilities and aspirations, or through the vehicle of secular-materialist management. In India’s specific case there is a third dimension to the issue that threatens to overshadow secularism-Hinduism discourses: Hindu-Muslim divide.The book discusses all these issues based on two primary assumptions of governance and morality. Incidentally, these are the two criteria that successive national governments led by Congress or BJP have not only failed to pass but also landed India into a state of political uncertainty, through progressive loss of public confidence in the Indian political system.