Meanings
- alternativeuncountableAlternative spelling of Hinduness.
Maintaining that Hindutva is the identity of India, he said, "Hindutva does not mean Hindu-ism. It means Hindu-ness."
2014 August 19, “Hindutva is not 'Hindu-ism' but 'Hindu-ness': RSS”, in The Economic Times4 more examples
The term Hindutva can be (sort of) translated as “Hindu-ness,” and that gets (sort of) at what it’s all about: Hinduism not a theology, but an identity.
2019 May 24, Jonah Blank, “How Hinduism Became a Political Weapon in India”, in The AtlanticWatching Rahul Gandhi going from one temple to another, donning a teeka on his forehead, flaunting his Hindu-ness is a fascinating experience.
2017 December 7, Ashutosh Tripathi, “Rahul Gandhi's Hindu-ness Shows A New Confidence”, in NDTV.com‘Hindu nationalism’ is a translation of the Indian concept of Hindutva, in which ‘Hindu-ness’ is not determined by religious affiliation but by nationality, culture and race – whether one’s ancestors, even very distantly, originated from the Indian subcontinent.
2020 November, “The politics of Hindutva in India”, in IISS [International Institute for Strategic Studies]Shashi Tharoor suddenly becomes a proud Hindu and writes an emotional account of his Hindu-ness in his book, Why I Am a Hindu (Aleph, 2018).
2021 August 23, Hilal Ahmed, “Non-BJP Hindu writers are correcting Nehruvian history. With little space for modern Muslims”, in ThePrint
Cite this entry
Hindu-ness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hindu-ness
“Hindu-ness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hindu-ness. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hindu-ness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hindu-ness.
Source: Hindu-ness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.