Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat recently said at a programme on 21 December in Kolkata that Bharat is a Hindu Rashtra. He has not said this for the first time, nor is he the first Sarsanghchalak to make this statement. All the five Sarsanghchalaks before him have maintained a similar stand, and there is nothing wrong in it.

To understand the concept of Hindu Rashtra, one has to understand the term Hindu.

Who is a Hindu

There have been many definitions of the term ‘Hindu’. But the most commonly accepted definition is that it was a term used to denote a civilisation that carried certain cultural values imbibed in the concept of ‘Dharma’. There is no equivalent term in English for ‘Dharma’. The closest term in English is perhaps righteousness. Most of the fallacies in understanding ‘Hindu Dharma’ have emerged due to the misinterpretation of the term ‘Dharma’ as religion.

‘Dharma’ is a Sanskrit term and it means a way of life, whereas ‘religion’ denotes a way of worship. Dharma in practice comprises the unchanging, eternal, universal laws and the ever-changing socio-economic order in the light of these laws. Perceived oneness in the midst of all diversities (Avibhaktam Vibhakteshu) has been the eternal message of Sanatana Dharma or Hindu Dharma.

In the early years of the 20th century, ‘religion’ was used interchangeably with the word ‘Dharma’ due to the impact of British colonialism........

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