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Article: Indian secularism: image and reality.
- Article from:
- Contemporary Review
- Article date:
- July 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Contemporary Review Company Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IN recent years, religious militancy and communal strife have become the biggest danger to India's secular fabric. Had the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won last year's election, power would probably have gradually shifted into the hands of Hindutva fanatics, who were careful to play down the communal card. The term 'Hindutva' is derived from the two terms Hindu Tattva, which literally mean Hindu Principles, aimed at promoting Hindu unity. But there is a distinction between Hinduism and Hindutva. Such a distinction is important because the latter, Hindutva, has a history of blood letting--from the murder of Mahatma Gandhi (killed by a Hindutva ideologue, Nathuram Godse) to ...