What Is Hindutva and Where Did This Political Movement Originate?

On May 14, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh in central India ruled that the centuries-old Kamal Maula mosque in Dhar city was actually a Hindu goddess temple. Two days later, saffron flags—a symbol of far-right Hindu groups—appeared across the area, with supporters celebrating and filming rituals.

The Kamal Maula complex, also known as Bhojshala, has been disputed for decades. Similar claims—that a mosque was built on the ruins of a temple—are not uncommon in India. Hindutva hardline activists have been strongly emboldened since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in 2014.

Modi leads the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a party guided by the ideology known as Hindutva.

Defining Hindutva: Hindutva is a right-wing political and nationalist ideology that defines India’s cultural and national identity through a specific interpretation of Hindu values. India is a constitutionally secular state, but Hindutva supporters want the country to recognize Hinduism as its state religion.

The term Hindutva has two parts: “Hindu” (from the Sanskrit “Sindhu,” the ancient name of the Indus River) and the suffix “-tva” (denoting essence), literally meaning “Hindu-ness” or “Hindu identity.”

Origins: Hindu nationalism emerged as a reaction to the British colonial view of religion but quickly evolved into a majoritarian ideology, viewing Indian identity through a specific Hindu lens.

Indian independence activist and thinker Vinayak Savarkar coined the term “Hindutva” in his 1923 booklet “Essentials of Hindutva.” He envisioned a Hindu identity based on territorial, cultural, and historical unity. On this basis, some Hindutva theorists argue that Muslims and Christians do not fully belong to the Indian nation, as their holy sites lie outside India.

From Idea to Movement: In 1925, early Hindutva thinker Keshav Baliram Hedgewar founded the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)—the parent organization of the Hindu majoritarian political movement. The RSS focused on organizing and strengthening the Hindu community through local social and cultural activities, later expanding into a network of institutions covering religion, education, healthcare, publishing, student politics, and trade unions.

After India’s independence, the movement faced severe pressure following Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948: Gandhi’s assassin had been an RSS member. Savarkar, the founder of Hindutva ideology, was also arrested but later acquitted for lack of evidence. In 1951, the movement formed a political party, which evolved into the BJP in 1980.

Political Influence: The BJP saw a sharp rise in the 1980s and 1990s when it championed building a Ram temple in Ayodhya on the site of the Babri mosque. In 1992, the mosque’s destruction by activists linked to the RSS and BJP triggered widespread sectarian violence.

In 2014, Narendra Modi came to power with the largest mandate any party had received since 1984. Under Modi, Hindutva has been gradually institutionalized: the abrogation of Article 370 (granting special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir), the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA, which excludes Muslims) in 2019, stricter cow slaughter laws, and laws controlling religious conversion and interfaith marriage.

Hindutva is also associated with extremist nationalist groups such as Bajrang Dal, accused of violence and intimidation targeting Muslims, Christians, and marginalized social groups. Notable incidents include the 1999 burning alive of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, the 2002 Gujarat massacre of Muslims, and dozens of lynchings of Muslims since 2014 on allegations of illegal cow slaughter.