everyday i see clueless westerners (especially white people) reblog thinly veiled hindutva propaganda which they wouldn't know cause they know absolutely nothing about what goes on in india. so here are some signs that that the tumblr user you're interacting with is a hindu nationalist:
they either do not acknowledge casteism or claim that caste is a western construct. my personal favourite however is dismissing anyone bringing up caste discrimination by saying that the indian constitution outlaws untouchability. they may also bring up the fact that the prime minister belongs to an other backwards class (obc) so clearly india has moved on from caste and hindutva isn't only for the upper castes. they possess a shallow understanding of caste
harping on about "islamic colonisation" : no, the mughals did not colonise india. when you point this out, they will immediately assume that you think muslim invaders were innocent beings who did nothing wrong, which is very much not what anyone is claiming here
while we're on the topic of "islamic colonisation" they will also refer to the demolishing of muslim sites of heritage and worship and then building hindu temples over them as "decolonisation" (cough cough ram mandir) the hindu right also goes around pretending that they're indigenous to india. this is false
along a similar vein, they will dismiss islamaphobia by bringing up instances of hindu oppression in countries like pakistan and bangladesh. it is true that hindus are persecuted in these two countries, however they are used to fuel their oppression complex, that their upper caste hindu self is under attack in india of all places (think a white christian in the united states). you should be in solidarity with minorities everywhere. it is neither transactional or conditional (note: they will never bring up sri lanka. persecution of hindus exists only when the oppressors are muslim)
claiming that hindu nationalism and hindutva are not the same because hindutva means "hindu-ness". that is only the literal translation of the term. like it or not, they're the same thing
they support the indian military occupation of kashmir. they will call it an integral part of kashmir, one reason which will be "hinduism is indigenous to kashmir." they will also bring up the last maharaja of kashmir signing the instrument of accession as further proof, as if the consent of the people was taken
they're zionists. do i even need to explain this. hindutva is just zionism for hindus
they refer to buddhism and jainism (sikhism too sometimes) as branches of hinduism rather than separate, distinct religions
they condemn any resistance to the indian govt as a burden or terrorism) (like calling the farmers who are currently protesting a hindrance or terrorists. funny how sikhs are the same as hindus when they support hindu causes but terrorists when they resist oppression...)
they call you a pseudo liberal or a fake leftist. i'm telling you, they don't know jackshit. they can't even tell the difference between a liberal and a leftist and call US unread lmao. bonus points if they call you a liberandu or a sickularist 💀
they call india "bharat" when they talk in english. there are in fact multiple indian languages call india bharat or bharatam, but if they say bharat while talking in english, that is absolutely a hindu nationalist no questions asked
please do your due diligence. read up on hindutva. hindu nationalists have already started making gains in the united states, thanks to rich upper caste nris . do not fall for propaganda
okay guys i made an addition that i knew i was forgetting but only just remembered
generally, talking about hindu religious texts as eternal, oldest, pure, sources of ancient wisdom while ignoring the brutality of caste and misogyny textually justified in them.
in the us: hindu american foundation, the vhpa, the hss and sewa international are the big orgs laundering hindutva in the mainstream, they will often fund hindu candidates and generally organise to oppose anti caste discrimination legislation or attack academics critical of hindutva under the guise of hinduphobia
Inspired by Jewish groups that cast criticism of Israel as antisemitism, Hindu American organizations are advancing a concept of “Hinduphobi
also jewish moots and users if you see people use hindu jewish solidarity tags, they are not your allies and friends. these people support an ideology whose founder has praised hitler and said they have been inspired from him. the political party they bootlick still continues to sanitize and glorify hitler's crimes in this country. they are using 'calling out' antisemitism as a shield to justify their twisted religious extremism. if you see someone use this tag just turn away from them.
i also want to mention that the man who formulated the ideology of hindutva (vinayak damodar savarkar) believed that hitler had a right to nazism and compared indian muslims to jews in germany. he also supported the formation of israel to "defend the world against islamic aggression." he also regarded being hindu as a political and cultural identity, rather being an adherent of a religion (shockingly enough he was an atheist). anyways these guys are huge fans of him so if you see anyone mention that man in a manner that's even slightly positive, run.
honestly i would in general be wary of anything extolling indian nationalisms, even when those nationalisms appear to be showing up as a counter to british colonization. for example, i was pretty dismayed to see the western delight over the movie RRR. the film has strong hindutva underpinnings, in particular through its ramayana symbolism, which has a history of being used to galvanize the hindu nationalist movement. and this had very tangible effects, including the 1992 destruction of the babri masjid mosque in ayodhya, and the beginning of construction of a ram temple in its place in 2020 - a move that has empowered hindu nationalist violence and genocide of muslims.
there's obviously a balance here, as british colonization continues to have deep scars in south asia, but hindutva is attempting to reframe itself as a decolonization struggle not only over the mughals but also over the british, which allows for this kind of mythmaking that furthers hindu fascism.
other things to watch out for:
op got at this related to kashmir but in general, anything referring to hindus as "indigenous people"
people talking about how south india isn't casteist because caste-based violence there is usually between scheduled castes and/or other backward classes (in case op's post didn't make it clear, "other backward class" or obc is an official classification in india...yeah), which doesn't account for the violence of brahminical patriarchy outside of direct violence
the idea that hindi is or should be the one true national language of india
hindutva pinkwashing and homonationalism - i've especially seen this come up with kashmir, where hindu fascists will spout nonsense about how india's revocation of article 370 (which previously gave kashmir semi-autonomous status) was necessary to enforce the decriminalization of homosexuality, or in relation to the transgender persons (protection of rights) bill
oh, and to be clear, caste and caste oppression are not limited to hindu communities in south asia - muslim, sikh, and christian communities perpetuate casteism as well. BUT, like with op's point about hindus being persecuted in pakistan and bangladesh, this is NOT justification for systemic oppression of religious minorities by the ruling hindu government and class. rather, it highlights the need for caste abolition in ALL communities
