Meanings
- The state or quality of being Hindu
- governmentThe ideology of Hindu nationalism
In India, too, people now wish to bring that argument to a close: to replace the ruckus of politics with the moralized ideology of Hindutva.
2016, Sunil Khilnani, Incarnations, Penguin, page 2841 more example
China’s one-party meritocracy, Putin’s uncrowned czardom, the post-Arab Spring triumph of dictatorship and monarchy over religious populism in the Middle East, the Hindutva populism transforming Indian democracy — these aren’t just all indistinguishable forms of “autocracy,” but culturally distinctive developments that fit well with Huntington’s typology[…]
2022 March 30, Ross Douthat, “Yes, There Is a Clash of Civilizations”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
plural Hindutvas
- informalA member of a Hindutva group or a supporter of Hindutva.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Transliteration of Hindi हिंदुत्व (hindutva) / Bengali হিন্দুত্ব (hindutto, literally “Hinduness”). Coined by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in its literal sense, in his novel Anandamath, published in 1882. The term was popularised by Chatterjee's friend Chandranath Basu in his magnum opus titled "Hindutva : Hindur Prakrita Itihaas", published in 1892. It was later appropriated and popularised in its modern political sense by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in his political pamphlet titled "Hindutva : Who is a Hindu?", published in 1923.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali হিন্দুত্ব
- হিন্দুত্ব (hindutto)Translations
Hindi हिंदुत्व
- हिंदुत्व (hindutva)Translations
Urdu ہِنْدُوتوا
- ہِنْدُوتوا (hindūtvā)Translations
Cite this entry
Hindutva. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hindutva
“Hindutva.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hindutva. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hindutva,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hindutva.
Source: Hindutva on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.