Savarkar: A Contested Legacy, 1924-1966

by Vikram Sampath

Q: Some think that you believe in a Hindu Nation because you are a fanatic communalist. What have you to say about it? A: Let us get this thing straight. People have a wrong notion of a Hindu Nation and about communalism. A Hindu means a person who regards this land of Bharatvarsha from the Indus to the Seas as his fatherland and holy land—the land of origin of his religion and the cradle of his faith. Therefore, the followers of Vedism [sic], Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism and all hill tribes are Hindus. The Parsees, amongst the other minorities, are by race, religion, language and culture, almost akin to the Hindus. The Christians and Jews could be politically assimilated with the Hindus. Around this life-centre moves Hindutva—not a religious dogma or creed but the thoughts and activities of the whole being of the Hindu race. The problem of the minority is that of only one minority—the Muslim minority. A Hindu nation, therefore, is a group of people bound together by ties of common religion and culture, common history and traditions, common literature, occupying a territory of geographical unity and aspiring to form a political unit. Therefore, in Hindusthan, the Hindus are a nation.