Go Deeper
The Hindu nationalist movement has a reasonably long history, as it originated in the middle of the twentieth century. Jones and James define this movement as “a contemporary movement with religious, cultural, and political aspects, oriented towards the creation of a Hindu state in India and a monolithic Hindu identity based on Hindutva.” The origin of this worldview dates back to the 1920s and 1930s and was created by V. D. Savarkar, president of the right-wing party Hindu Mahasabha (Sunil).
Hindu Nationalism primarily regarded Christianity and Islam as unsuitable and alien to the Indian state since they had other countries of warship, which was unacceptable for the followers of this movement. Therefore, it can be said that the primary purpose of this movement was the creation of a state in which Hinduism became the dominant and only religion. In addition, this worldview has been criticized for encouraging violent acts against minority groups. Despite this significant negative characteristic, Hindu nationalism has a relatively large number of followers at the moment.
It is worth noting that there is an ongoing dispute regarding the connection between the modern Hindu nationalist movement under President Narendra Modi and his BJP party and Akbar’s spirit of religious tolerance. The study of this aspect provides an opportunity to gain awareness about the differences between these important movements. Mughal Emperor Akbar “hosted religious debates of Hindu, Muslim, Parsi (Zoroastrian), and Christian (Jesuit) scholars at Fatehpur Sikri and concluded that no religion held the exclusive truth” (Upshur). In contrast to the Hindu nationalist movement led by President Narendra Modi and his BJP party, this movement’s policy focused on fostering unity and reconciliation among different religious communities and faiths. Thus, it can be stated that these two movements cannot have similarities, despite some of their similar characteristics.
Go Around the World
There are quite a large number of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom. Hence, one of the Middle East countries that have undergone this division is Iraq, which gained independence on October 3, 1932, through the British Mandate for Mesopotamia. The country that gained independence after 1960 is Antigua and Barbuda, which gained it on November 1, 1981, through the Antigua Termination of Association Order. The state that was once a British Colony but then separated from it is Egypt. Most people do not associate this country as part of the British Colony; however, it has been such for quite a long time. Egypt gained independence in 1922 through control over the Suez Canal Zone, which was maintained until 1956.
Cyprus is also one of the many countries that gained independence from the British Colony. It separated on August 16, 1960, which was the reason for the creation of Cyprus Independence Day on October 1. This process was characterized by significant nationalist violence and unrest, which lasted until the middle of the twentieth century. In this period of time, a large number of rebellious actions took place. The coming to power of Archbishop Markarios III marked the beginning of the process of the formal separation of Cyprus from the British Colony. The cultural peculiarities of the Cypriot population, which mainly consisted of Cypriots and Turks, played a critical role in this process. These groups were divided in opinion regarding separation, but eventually, the country gained independence through the Zürich and London Agreement.
The Bahamas is included in the list of countries that gained independence from the British Colony in the twentieth century. This event took place on July 10, 1973, after the introduction of the Bahamas Independence Act 1973. Unlike Cyprus, this country has experienced a peaceful transition to independence from Britain. This happened through the appointment of Lynden Pindling to the post of Premier of the Bahamian colony, during whose work great emphasis was placed on gaining control over the activities and functioning of the state. The introduction of the new Constitution of the Bahamas was the driving force in gaining this right. It is worth noting that there were no specifically critical aggregates of culture that stand out about this transition to independence.
The first former British colony to gain independence besides the countries of the subcontinent, such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the United States of America, was Afghanistan. This country gained independence on August 19, 1919. This happened after the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War at the conclusion of the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919. A feature of this formal agreement was the adoption by the Government of Afghanistan to recognize the Durand Line as the border between this country and British India. In addition, research stated that “Britain would not permit Afghanistan to import arms and ammunition through India, the payment of a subsidy would be ended, and the arrears in payments would be confiscated” (Anglo-Afghan Treaties para. 2). Afghanistan agreed to these conditions, which contributed to a more peaceful decision to grant the independence of this country from the influence and control of the British Colony.
Works Cited
“Anglo-Afghan Treaties.” Harold B. Lee Library, no date. Web.
Jones, Constance A., and James D. Ryan. “Hindu nationalism.” Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Hinduism, 2016. Web.
Sunil, Sahu K. “Hindu Nationalism.” The SAGE Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religion, edited by Adam Possamai, and Anthony J. Blasi, Sage UK, 1st edition, 2020. Web.
Upshur, Jiu-Hwa Lo. “Akbar.” World History: A Comprehensive Reference Set, edited by Facts on File, 1st edition, 2016. Web.