[psankar]

What absolute non-sense! There is no such religion called Hinduism. An average Hindu Punjabi has more in common with an average Muslim Pakistani (Language, Food, Music, etc.) than a Hindu Tamilian. But the Punjabi/Rajasthani and Tamilian or both clubbed into a single Hindu religion.

A Tamilian sacrifices Goat to his God. But this is not accepted by the Brahminic Hinduism as a way of worship in their temples. But all of these are merged into a false identity of "Hindu".

Who is a hindu according to Indian law ? One who is not Muslim or Christian or Jain. Because there is nothing else that commonly unites them. Hindu is a western term for the land beyond Indus and it is not a religion for all these years (until the politicians decided to use it to suit their purposes). Saivam, Vaishnavism, etc. were the original religions of this land. Not this abomination called Hindutva.

[yumraj]

Name may be modern, but Hinduism refers to Sanatan Dharm that is indigenous to India.

Let's not confuse religion with culture. By the above logic:

An average Pakistani has more in common with Hindu/Sikh Punjabi. A Bangladeshi had more in common with Hindu Bengali. Indonesian Muslims have more in common with Malay. Central Asians with watch other than Arabs, Africans with each other. Yet, there is singular Islam. Same goes for every other religion.

[psankar]

> Name may be modern, but Hinduism refers to Sanatan Dharm that is indigenous to India.

Absolutely not. Tamil Sithar songs, Kannada Lingayata principles all oppose caste systems and make fun of vedic practices. Sanatan Dharm is all about discriminating people based on birth/caste.

[cmonnow]

> There is no such religion called Hinduism

This is a common new-age trout. Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world, with an extensive set of scriptures, rituals, rules, and culture.

It's like a banyan tree with many roots. Just because it doesn't enforce a particular branch (sect) with the rigor that other religions do, it doesn't mean the tree doesn't exist. It exists old and strong.

[smt1]

Well said. Hinduism has historically always been one of the most diverse and heterogeneous religious on the planet! And that's what made it incredible resilient in the past; it simply reflected whatever local groups worshipped/beleived, and it could vary wildly between village to village.

Hindutva is simply a way for a group of people to power grab by forging "us vs them" bugs in human nature.