i have a question to ask, in case of a hypothetical abolishment of "Hinduism" what do you think the people who identify as hindus now supposed to identify as afterwards? i'm guessing by "abolishing" Hinduism you mean getting rid of the colonial label and oppressive religious clergy that preserve/impose the worst practices (including caste) rather than the numerous practices/gods/theologies that are grouped under Hinduism? but i may be wrong here so pls correct me if i am. (this is kinda what I got from you constantly mentioning "dominant" form of Hinduism? thought dominant in this sense meant the Hindutva infested form in India that's tied to and centers brahminical forces/conceptions which is the one alot of us are surrounded by in India, but once again could be wrong so do correct me if i am.)
my general point is still that like. even if the label is a colonial imposition, that was ages ago and in today's age many only understand themselves under those terms, bc before that it was caste names for religion which we obviously can't do now, so what are we supposed to do? /gen
Yes, by dominant, I mean Hinduism, as is intrinsically tied to/ continuing the legacy of brahminization and sanskritization in India and Nepal. You can check out this reply by @dominadajarvispokan that explained it in much better detail if you want to know more. As explained, this is a feature that isn't exclusive to Hindu fascism, or 'Hindutva', but one that is still widely practice and this is what needs to be abolished.
I think you're off on your assessment that the project of caste integration is something that's been completed. While it is true that many people today, willingly or unwillingly, understand themselves under caste terms, this is not an attribute to Hinduism's success in stripping indigenous cultures of their identities. Rather this is the manifestation of a coercively-upheld caste-based apartheid which offers very real material benefits to those who fall in favor of the higher caste, who maintain a dominance in political and economic spheres. They are political leaders, bosses, CEOs, billionaires, and elites in every level that hold access to disproportionately higher portions of urban and farm land, and control the means that the lower caste people have to sustain their livelihoods.
Class is how caste is coercively imposed upon people. People understand themselves as a lower caste because that is the material outcome of such a system, not because they view themselves as inherently inferior to the higher castes. Like in any class-based hierarchy, there have been anti-class -- anti-caste -- movements throughout our region that have manifested in ways that people don't even recognize. This ties into the rampant Islamophobia, anti-Buddhist and many other forms of discriminatory sentiments that fascist Hindu leaders are known to take advantage of to enforce caste hierarchy, using hard and soft power channels as necessary.
So, to finally answer your question of what is to be done, I don't see the struggle against Hindu dominance as different from the class struggle in South Asia. While caste hierarchy has been in place for centuries, the growing centrality of class as the primary means of its enforcement is continuously creating conditions for class struggle. Nepal's abolishment of the Hindu monarchy by popular support was a natural consequence of the progress of history, as are the socialist and communist struggles that are ongoing in different parts of India. As the elites resort to increasingly violent means of maintaining their positions, you will find that the situation of challenging Hindu dominance is already much better today than when these regions were dominated by feudalism and industrial capitalism.
The fusion of religion and state is unstable as it is unreliable. As the path to socialism brings about material changes in the lives of people that undermine the role of Hinduism, people will naturally follow the path that is more materially beneficial to them. To undermine Hindu dominance in state affairs, we need to fight for social channels that guarantee people their inalienable rights and needs that are not religion-based, like a lot of social services for the marginalized currently are. We need to fight against caste-based discrimination at home and in society as fiercely as in the government, the workplace and at schools. We need to abolish Hinduism in all its structural manifestations until it is no longer the only pathway for people's survival. The change in people's attitudes and the hold of religion over the masses is something that will change as these systems are put in place, and any lingering attachments can be addressed productively as they come. This would be the death of Hinduism as we know it. Those who want to continue its traditions will need to find a way to do so without an ethnostate, without an apartheid, and without exploitation of a lower class.
