response to observer, Sikhs are NOT hindus, and hindutva IS NOT hinduism.

Submitted by khk (United States), Jul 26, 2007 at 17:08

Hindutva does not equal Hinduism. It is a neo-movement which had its roots in the early half of the 20th century which sought to unify the various dharmic religions and practices of the subcontinent under one banner. It sought to organize and politicize religion, because its lack of it was seen as a weekeness and a fundamental reason the region fell to islamic rulers from the 11th century onwards, and later by european colonialism.

As for the Gujarat Pogrom, in context, it was a reaction to an attack on a train carrying hindu pilgrims which killed 90. But before you rant about that, let me state that the deaths of innocent muslims following the riot was despicable, and NO ONE BUT HINDUTVA IS TO BLAME. But here's the thing. Hindus across the country acted in condemnation of the riots, and how it was an act of fanaticism by Hindutva that didn't further any of its political goals, it just showed how corrupted they are. Hindus across the nation protested the Bajrang Dal and Hindutva,OPENLY and VEHEMENTLY.

There were protests across the country, outside the Shiv Sena political headquarters in Bombay, all the way to Delhi and Chennai. Let's see you walk through the streets Riyadh or Kabul, or even in Aceh in Indonesia where there have been so man attacks by corrupt islamists on religious minorities saying "The islamist bombers and beheaders are NOT TRUE MUSLIMS" (which they probably aren't) and see if you don't get attacked for voicing the truth.

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