In the centenary year of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the largest voluntary organisation in the world, the philosophy of ‘Hindutva’, i.e., Hinduness, is being discussed across the globe. In this context, it is important to understand how the organisation views this philosophy from a global perspective and why it wants to take Hindutva global.

RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat recently said in his interaction with prominent citizens in Bengaluru on 8-9 November, “What is the life mission of the Hindu nation? Swami Vivekananda had said, every nation has a message to deliver, a mission to accomplish, a destiny to fulfil. Bharat also has a mission, to give Dharma to the world."

In this context, it is important to understand the concept of ‘Dharma’, how ‘Hindutva’ is rooted in the concept of Dharma, and how it differs from religion. Dharma is a way of life based on eternal values such as co-existence and happiness for all (Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah), rooted in ancient Indian wisdom. Religion is related to a particular way of worship. There is no connection between the two. Hence, even the concept of a ‘Hindu nation’ is misconstrued and often projected as a deathblow to ‘secularism’, which is an integral part of a modern democratic nation-state. This is an outcome of viewing the concepts of Dharma and the ‘Hindu........

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