\n\n“it was Khanna\u2019s invocation of \u201cHindutva\u201d in his tweet that was perhaps most telling, reflecting the increasingly complicated role Hindu nationalism plays in U.S. politics at a time when Indian American and Hindu politicians\u2014and the communities they hail from\u2014are growing in number and power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most Americans probably have never heard the word \u201cHindutva,\u201d but it\u2019s a common term among subsets of the Indian diaspora, particularly those who follow Hindu nationalism. To its advocates, Hindutva, or \u201cHindu-ness,\u201d is a benign, catch-all term for Hindu culture that encompasses its history, language, civilization and religion. But its origins and deployment are rooted in a nationalist, and often violent, vision of Indian culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ideologue who coined the term in 1923, V.D. Savarkar, emphasized indigeneity as the bloodline of a nation. He defined \u201cHindus\u201d as those who consider India both their homeland and their holy land\u2014a definition that includes Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains, but not Christians or Muslims. In his speeches and writings, Savarkar made clear<\/a> that he saw Nazi Germany\u2019s treatment of Jews as a model for dealing with India\u2019s Muslims. Today, some Hindus emphasize Hindutva as a way of life<\/a>. But it is also the ideology used in India to justify ultranationalist politics and defend religious bigotry, militancy and Hindu majoritarianism\u2014especially<\/a> since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, in the United States, a small but vocal group of donors and activists is pressuring Indian American and Hindu politicians to embrace the ideology, while criticizing as \u201cHinduphobic\u201d those who reject Hindutva for its nationalist roots. These Hindutva advocates hope to use the ideology as a wedge issue for the roughly 1.9 million Indian American eligible voters in this country, who represent one of the fastest-growing and wealthiest immigrant groups in the United States. Fifty-six percent<\/a> of Indian American voters consider themselves Democrats, and in a recent survey<\/a>, nearly three-quarters said they plan to vote for Joe Biden for president. But 22 percent are still up for grabs as independents who don\u2019t affiliate with any party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Support for Hindutva in the United States doesn\u2019t necessarily fall along the Democratic-Republican spectrum. But last year, a group of well-heeled Indian Americans founded a new PAC, Americans for Hindus, to take a stronger partisan line. The group\u2014formed in response to what its websitecalls<\/a> \u201canti-India and anti-Hindu statements and actions\u201d from Democrats\u2014is supporting 13<\/a> Republican congressional candidates across the country this cycle, including a challenger to Khanna. Few expect the influence of Hindutva to radically shift Indian American voters to the right, particularly in liberal districts like Khanna\u2019s. But it could at least make a dent in a politically polarized population that includes 500,000<\/a> voters in swing states.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n