'Secularism' as understood and interpreted by Hindu nationalists
In: Journal of language and politics, Band 17, Heft 4, S. 533-551
ISSN: 1569-9862
Abstract
This article focuses on how Hindu nationalists interpret the term 'secularism' in
Hindi. I will refer to two Hindi translations of 'secularism':
dharmnirpekṣtā and panthnirpekṣtā. The
first one means indifference towards religion and the second indifference
towards communities. My main point is that the Hindu nationalists' strategy of
referring to old, Sanskrit meanings of dharm (which means 'law'
and 'order' aside 'religion' and other concepts) make it possible for them to criticise dharmnirpekṣtā and choose
panthnirpekṣtā instead. Their position is that the state
can only be indifferent to communities and not to dharm, as the
latter would also mean being indifferent to 'law' and 'order'. Such an approach
helps the Hindu nationalists to claim to be in agreement with the idea of
secular Indian state on one hand and promote their religion-linked ideology on
the other.