India is identical with Sanatana Dharma

Paramount cry for a Hindu nation-II V. Sundaram newstodaynet.com/2006sud/06jun

The fact that 'WE HINDUS ARE A NATION' is by no means a new idea. This idea has been with us from the dawn of history. Without going into the hoary past, let me trace it from the latter half of the 19th century. If we read the writings of Swami Dayanand Saraswati of Arya Samaj, we can see the underlying notion that 'We Hindus are a Nation'. We can see the same refrain in the writings of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee of Bande Mataram fame and Sri Aurobindo. In their writings we find a clear and confident assertion that 'We Hindus are a Nation' and not just a religious community...

In 1909, Sri Aurobindo expressed the same view in his historic Uttarpara speech: 'India is identical with 'Sanatana Dharma'. When therefore it is said that India shall rise, it is the 'Sanatana Dharma' that shall rise. When it is said that India shall expand and extend itself, it is the 'Sanatana Dharma' that shall expand and extend itself over the world. It is for the Dharma and by the Dharma that India exists. I say that it is the 'Sanatana Dharma' which for us is nationalism'.

The cardinal fact that 'We Hindus are a Nation' unto ourselves and not just a religious community formed the crucial plank of our first national movement in 1905, viz. the 'Swadeshi Movement' in undivided Bengal. When Bengal was partitioned by Lord Curzon in 1905, the entire Hindu society rose up with a national inspiration. No one at that time had the slightest doubt that 'We Hindus are a Nation'. (The writer is a retired IAS officer) e-mail the writer at vsundaram@newstodaynet.com GO TOP / HOME / OTHER SPECIAL STORIES