Hinduism in South Asia

Indo-Aryan migrations brought the Indo-Aryans to South Asia, where they compiled and composed the Vedic corpus during the Vedic period (ca. 1500-500 BCE) across present-day Northern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The subsequent period, between 800 BCE and 250 BCE, was "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions", and a formative period for Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The Epic and Early Puranic period, from c. 250 BCE and 500 CE, saw the onset of the Hindu synthesis, followed by the classical "Golden Age" of India (c. 350 - 650 CE), which coincides with the Gupta Empire.

Following the conquest of Islamic rulers in the Indian subcontinent and spread of Islam in South Asia, the Hindu-majority population became subject to a predominantly Muslim elite and the former’s status depended on the region and the ruler, e.g. the cultural and religious syncretism at the court of Akbar as compared to the more Islamically orthodox, zealous edicts of Aurangzeb. During the latter period of the Mughal Empire, powerful Hindu polities reemerged, such as the Vijayanagara and Maratha Empire in modern-day India.

History

Origins

The Vedic period, named after the Vedic religion of the Indo-Aryans, lasted from c. 1900 BCE-500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans were pastoralists who migrated into north-western India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization. Linguistic and archaeological data show a cultural change in the subcontinent after 1500 BCE, with the linguistic and religious data clearly showing links with Indo-European languages and religion. By about 1500 BCE, the Vedic culture and agrarian lifestyle were established in the northwest and northern Gangetic plain of South Asia. Rudimentary state-forms appeared, of which the Kuru-Pañcāla union was the most influential. The first recorded state-level society in South Asia existed around 1000 BCE. In this period, states Samuel emerged the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of Vedic texts, which merged into the earliest Upanishads. These texts began to ask the meaning of a ritual, adding increasing levels of philosophical and metaphysical speculation, or "Hindu synthesis".

Rise of Hindu Nationalism

In recent years, there has been a rising movement of Hindu nationalism and feeling of Hindutva or Hindu identity among the Hindus of India. This has been observed especially after the formation of the BJP government in India in 2014. In India, several Hindu nationalist political parties exist, out of which the BJP is the biggest among them. Alongside the BJP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has also been accused of being a chief organisation in the Hindu nationalist cause.

The rise of Hindu nationalism and Hindutva is seen as a threat to the secular laws of India. It was also seen that the with rise of the Hindu nationalism, there has been an increase in persecutions of religious minorities, mainly Muslims and Christians. The government of Narendra Modi has also been blamed for the increase in violence. Other hardline Hindutva groups, such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal (which are designated as paramilitary groups by many nations such as Australia, Canada and United States) have also contributed a major role to the enhancement of Hindu nationalism and are also blamed for increasing Islamophobia in India and attacks on Christians.

Similarly, Nepal has also experienced the same rise in Hindu nationalism, mainly after 2015 after demonstrators protested for the re-declaration of Hinduism as the state religion of Nepal along with the restoration of the monarchy in the country. Nepal has seen an increase in violence against Christians.