Abstract
The purpose of this article is to comment on the term hindutva, viz. "Hinduness," with special reference to a 19th century Bengali thinker who sought to indigenise his Christian faith, and to draw some topical conclusions. The thinker is Brahmabandhab Upadhyay (1861-1907) whom his sometime friend, Rabindranath Tagore, Bengal's greatest luminary, described as "a Roman Catholic ascetic, yet a Vedantin -- spirited, fearless, self-denying, erudite and uncommonly influential." No doubt Upadhyay was influential then; he had a powerful impact on Tagore himself especially when they were jointly establishing what would later develop as Tagore's brainchild of Santiniketan. For years previously Upadhyay had made a name for himself among the educated in the land in his attempt to give content to his self-description as a "Hindu-Catholic," not only by a vigorous campaign of journalism and lectures but by his extraordinary life-style.
Recommended Citation
Lipner, Julius
(1992)
"On "Hindutva" and a "Hindu-Catholic," with a Moral for our Times,"
Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies:
Vol. 5, Article 2.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.7825/2164-6279.1055