Emergence and Evolution of the Hindutva Discourse in India

Abstract

The Hindu ultra-nationalist discourse became known around the world in 1992 when Hindu fanatics demolished the Babri Masjid in the city of Ayodhya. Though those fanatics claimed it was the birthplace of Ram, one of the Hindu gods. This event was the first sign that the problems arising from ultra-nationalist groups in India would continue to grow in the future. Because of that violence, the discourse of the Bharatiya Janata Party has also become a focal point by the experts of Indian politics. As a result, studies made on that discourse, the Discourse of Hindutva. A descriptive study was conducted by using primary and secondary sources while this thought was under the spotlight. The conclusion reached as a result of this study is that the supporters of Hindutva thought to pursue an imaginary ideal of community/society conceptualised by Benedict Anderson.

Keywords

• Hindutva
• V. D. Savarkar
• M. S. Golwalkar
• Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang-RSS
• Bharatiya Janata Party

Hindistan’da Hindutva Söylemi’nin Ortaya Çıkışı ve Gelişimi

Öz

Hindu aşırı milliyetçi söyleminin dünya genelinde bilinir hale gelmesi, 1992 yılında Hindu fanatiklerin, Hindu tanrılarından birisi olan Ram’ın doğum yeri olduğunu iddia ettikleri Ayodhya şehrindeki Babri Mescidi’ni yıkmaları ile olmuştur. Bu olay Hindistan’daki fanatik ve aşırı milliyetçi gruplardan kaynaklanacak sorunların ileride artarak devam edeceğinin ilk işareti olmuştur. Bu şiddet olayları yüzünden aşırılık yanlısı bu Hindu milliyetçisi grupların partisi olan Bharatiya Janata Party/Hindistan Halkı’nın Partisi’nin Hindistan siyasi hayatında izlediği seyir de konunun Hindistan siyaseti uzmanlarınca daha fazla dikkate alınır hale gelmiştir. Bunun sonucunda konu ile ilgili yapılan çalışmalar bu aşırılık yanlısı hareketin temelinde yatan ve Hindu fanatizmini besleyen düşünceyi de gün yüzüne çıkarmıştır. Bu düşünce Hindutva-Hinduluk düşüncesidir. Bu düşünce mercek altına alınırken birincil ve ikincil kaynaklar kullanılarak tanımlayıcı bir çalışma yapılmıştır. Bu çalışma sonucunda ulaşılan sonuç ise Hindutva düşüncesi taraftarlarının Benedict Anderson’un kavramsallaştırdığı türde bir hayali cemaat/toplum ideali peşinde koştuklarıdır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Hindutva
• V. D. Savarkar
• M. S. Golwalkar
• Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sang-RSS
• Bharatiya Janata Partisi

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