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| The Hindu Phenomenon |
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A UNIQUE PHENOMENON |
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The first point that needs to be emphasized in a
meaningful discussion of Hindu nationalism is that it is
something altogether different from other types of
nationalisms, with the possible exception of the Chinese
about which it is premature to say anything definite
since the Chinese people have yet to recover their
capacity to shape their future in accordance with their
civilization and genius. The reason is simple. The Hindu
civilization, which is the basis of Hindu nationalism, is
different from any other living civilization, again with
the partial exception of the Chinese. Even when the
uniqueness of our civilization is accepted, it is sought
to be annulled for all practical purposes, by giving it
the label Hinduism and equating it with other
religions. The tragedy is that most educated Hindus have
themselves fallen prey to this semantic confusion. Thus
they describe themselves as one community among others.
It follows that we should shun the term Hinduism; but
that is not a practical proposition.
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