a contextual missiology of the spirit - eTheses Repository ...

constant torch bearers. They represented the dharmasatta [religious authority].
The king was only an ardent follower of that higher moral authority. 96
Although the RSS did not contest any elections, as Jaffrelot has observed, ‘its
democratic credentials have been affected’ badly due to its attempt to influence
those in power, and thus it has been transformed ‘into a kind of advisor to the
government.’ 97
However, with growing criticism from various spheres of society of its ideology
and the marriage with Sangh Parivar, BJP has tried to reinterpret the Hindutva
concept. It seems that they are attempting to redefine various terms for the
purpose of political gain. There are efforts to equate Democracy with
Majoritarianism, and also to redesign the terms and meanings used by early
advocates of Hindutva. The BJP has been making vigorous attempt to redefine
secularism to give it a new title ‘positive secularism,’ referring to the current
secularism advocated by Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the
independent India, and others as ‘pseudo-secularism’. They argue that their new
definition, ‘positive secularism,’ will safeguard all religious groups and minority
rights. McKean’s observation regarding the religious entanglements with
democracy in contemporary India is significant:
With the increasing prominence of Hindu nationalist ideology, secularism came
to be widely interpreted as the state’s obligation to support all religions, with the
greatest support going to Hinduism, the religion of a purported majority of
Indians .… According to Hindu nationalists, because Hinduism emanates from
96
M.S. Golwalkar, Bunch of Thoughts (Bangalore: Jagrana Prakashan, 1966), 37-38, quoted in
Jaffrelot, 363.
97
Jaffrelot, ‘Hindu Nationalism,’ 363.
202