Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by unmole 1379 days ago
> India as a purely Hindu state, made solely of Hindus

I don't have any sympathy for Sanghis but this isn't accurate. They have a majoritarian conception of nationalism but they don't envision a state where minorities do not exist. Hell, the RSS has a Muslim wing, the Muslim Rashtriya Manch.

The most despicable hate mongers like Adityanath and Sakshi Maharaj are not actually RSS members. The RSS is moderate in comparison. This is a function of the Overton Window has shifting to an extent but also because the RSS has mellowed.
2 comments
musingmuslim 1379 days ago
> According to the party's official documents, Indian Muslims and Christians are still descendants of Hindus that happened to be converted to foreign faiths, so as long as they agree with its beliefs they can also be members. They are still required to attend the shakhas, and recite Hindu hymns, even by breaking Ramadhan fasts when possible. [1]

As long as you participate in Hindu rituals and changing how you practice your own (breaking fast). This also sounds like as a non-Hindu you are declaring your ‘foreign’ faith as inferior to Hinduism.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_Sangh#St...

link
nindalf 1379 days ago
I think it would be helpful if you read the book Hindutva by Vinayak Savarkar, the founder of the RSS. You’d be surprised by how closely they’ve followed the blueprint of hate and division set out by him 100 years ago.

Here’s a review of the book - https://reddit.com/r/india/comments/qsdvhb/understanding_hin...

link
unmole 1379 days ago
> Vinayak Savarkar, the founder of the RSS

Savarkar was not the founder of the RSS. He ridiculed cow worship, ate beef and encouraged the consumption of meat and eggs. He did not exert any significant pull on the RSS and never got along with Golwalkar. I think it would be helpful if you read actual history.

link
nindalf 1379 days ago
> After reading V. D. Savarkar's Hindutva, published in Nagpur in 1923, and meeting Savarkar in the Ratnagiri prison in 1925, Hedgewar was extremely influenced by him, and he founded the RSS with the objective of strengthening Hindu society.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtriya_Swayamsevak_Sangh.

Savarkar's ideas, especially that book (Hindutva), have always been influential. I strongly suggest reading the summary I linked. I agree that Savarkar wasn't religious, and it's fascinating how he managed to square that with his stance on Hindutva.

Here's another interesting thing - can you imagine a Marathi recommend that all Indians speak Hindi? Except that's exactly what he did.

> I think it would be helpful if you read actual history.

This is needlessly snarky. Please be better than this.

link