Hinduism: What Really Happenned in India (PDF) - Oration

Hinduism: What Really Happened in India – M. M. Ninan
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The colonizing Portugese brought with them the Roman Catholic form of
Christianity.
To them even the Malankara Thomas Churches who had some Syrian
connection were also heretical. They burned all local documents
publicly and by force instituted Roman form of Christianity. With the
decline of the Portuguese Colonialism and the coming of other European
colonists (who were essentially Protestant) Malankara Churches
liberated itself from Romanism and was established as an independent
church. They were evidently Christian. But the rest of the Indian
religions baffled them.
It was this consternation of the British that grouped all religions and
sects as “Hindu” which actually meant – “Of India – We cannot make
sense out of this mess”. As the Freedom Movements within India began
to grow, it became necessary for all Indians to find their unity. This was
provided by the new concept of “Hindu Relgion”. Even though it really
did not exist, it evolved out of the political necessity. Anie Beasant who
came to India joined the Indians in that evolutionary process. Arya
Samaj, was started by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875 which
proposed the idea that Hinduism is a pure Vedic religion. It was rational
and reformist in its outlook. In the rising scientific world it had a double
role to play. It emphasized the unity of all Indian religions and its
Sanadhana nature, at the same time it played an important role in rousing
the dormant conscience of the Hindu society against idol worship, caste
system, and many other social evils of that time. It was a product of the
resurgence of Indian conscience.