HINDU NATIONALISM IN RAJA RAO’S 'KANTHAPURA' (Pages 11-15) by Dr. Channappa. C. in THE ENGLISH RESEARCH EXPRESS / ISSN:2321-1164 (Online); 2347-2642 (Print)

The Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Vedas, the Upanishadhs, the Panchathantra stories, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Ambedkar, Basavanna and many patriotic leaders and noble souls of India have commandingly formulated Hindu Nationalism-Indian Nationalism. Each thinker may advocate his own discourse of Hinduism or Indian Nationalism but the epicenter of the theme is to make India a sovereign state i.e., BHARATA. Whether one agrees or otherwise, it is true that a creation of a Nation is germinated out of common feelings of the majority people of that land. India has had its own national significant ICONS. For example Mahatma Gandhi is Indian-National ICON because the principles he advocates would reflect the feelings of majority of Indians so he represents India and in fact India represents Gandhi’s principles. It is inseparable. Keeping this preamble as kneading point, my paper will examine Raja Rao’s Kanthapura in general and the protagonist of the novel Murthy in particular. Murthy’s ideology is the replica of our ‘Father of Nation’. If it is said that the entire novel Kanthapura explores Murthy’s ups and downs and his preaching/ practising Gandhi’s philosophy of life is not an exaggeration. An attempt will also be made in this paper to comprehend the genesis of Hindu Nationalism and Indian Nationalism and how Gandhian Nationalism (Indian Nationalism) which is noticed in Raja Rao’s Kanthapura and to drive home Hindu Nationalism a reference with Rabindranatha Tagore will be attempted, even though Tagore’s concept of Nationalism is different one. Moreover the concept of a Nation came to be much debated after the colonialists entered and exited. In simple terms, Hindu nationalism is formulated with an amalgamation of divinity and knowledge found in Indian epics and the awareness created by colonization too. Nationalism is more of a total sensibility and a way of the life of the people of the particular land. Keywords: Patriotic leaders, Hindu Nationalism, Gandhi’s principles, divinity and knowledge, colonialists, Father of Nation etc.