A Brief Review on Swami Vivekananda and Hindu Nationalism

Asmina Khatun

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.70372

A Brief Review on Swami Vivekananda and Hindu Nationalism

Author(s)	Asmina Khatun
Country	India
Abstract	This paper undertakes a comparative analysis of Hindu nationalism and Swami Vivekananda's nationalist thought, examining the conceptual divergences between the two despite their frequent association in political discourse. The central inquiry revolves around the contested usage of the term 'Hindu' in the context of Indian nationalism — whether it denotes an inclusive civilizational identity or a narrowly defined religious-cultural exclusivism. The paper begins by situating Indian nationalism within the broader theoretical framework of nationalism as articulated by scholars such as Hans Kohn and C. J. H. Hayes, before tracing the historical emergence of Hindu nationalism in colonial India. It then systematically examines the major strands of Hindu nationalist thought — from Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's concept of Hindutva, grounded in territorial, racial, and cultural unity, to M. S. Golwalkar's vision of a Hindu Rashtra that marginalizes religious minorities, to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) organizational ideology, and finally to Deendayal Upadhyaya's Integral Humanism, which became the philosophical foundation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In contrast, the paper evaluates Swami Vivekananda's nationalist philosophy, which, while deeply rooted in Hindu spiritual traditions, was fundamentally universalist in character. For Vivekananda, 'Hindu' represented a vast, all-encompassing civilization that embraced Muslims, Christians, Jains, Buddhists, and all other communities without compulsion or exclusion. His nationalism was built upon the principles of Vedanta — the oneness of all existence — universal tolerance, social equality, and the upliftment of the marginalized masses. He envisioned nation-building not through religious consolidation but through manav dharma — the religion of humanity. The comparative analysis reveals that while Hindu nationalists frequently invoke Vivekananda's name as ideological inspiration, their core doctrines — emphasizing ethnic-cultural exclusivity, minority subordination, and religious-political consolidation — stand in fundamental contradiction to his universalist and inclusive vision. The paper concludes that a genuine nationalism rooted in Vivekananda's thought must be India-building in character — broad, inclusive, and humanistic — rather than centered on narrow religious or cultural supremacy.
Keywords	Hindu Nationalism, Hindutva, Swami Vivekananda, RSS, BJP, Savarkar, Golwalkar, Integral Humanism, Indian Nationalism, Vedanta, Universalism, Secularism.
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-03-07
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.70372

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A Brief Review on Swami Vivekananda and Hindu Nationalism

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