ABSTRACT
This chapter turns towards an examination of modern right-wing Hindu revival, and in particular the far right-wing organizations that have come to dominate Hinduism in the last decade. All these organizations can be described appropriately as authoritarian religious movements. Both identity and personal politics are extraordinarily important for Hindu nationalism. Despite an embedded and popular view that Hinduism cannot allow conversions into its identity, Hindu nationalists have demonstrated a violent evangelical zeal which matches that of Christian and Islamic neofoundational movements. The chapter looks at the background to the history, ideologies and activities of the family of Hindu nationalist organizations (sangh parivar). The Vedas are the founding written texts of what, much later, came to be known as Hinduism. Hinduism, in particular the caste system, the power of brahmins, the authority of the Vedas and even the belief in a Supreme Being, was powerfully threatened by Buddhism and Jainism.
