'Being Hindu, Being Indian': Book examines Lala Lajpat Rai's ideas of nationhood

New Delhi: Revealing the complexities of freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai's thinking, an upcoming book claims to offer the first comprehensive examination of his nationalist thought.

Scheduled to hit the stands next month, "Being Hindu, Being Indian", announced on the occasion of Rai's 159th birth anniversary, invites readers to treat his ideas as a "gateway to think more deeply about history, politics, religious identity and nationhood".

It is written by historian Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav and published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI).

While Rai is commonly associated with Bhagat Singh and his opposition to British rule, the book challenges hasty conclusions about Rai's ideology in the recent decades where he is rediscovered as an "ideological ancestor of Hindutva".

Bhagat Singh, in order to avenge the death of Rai, famously known as "Punjab Kesari", killed British officer JP Saunders on December 17, 1928. He was later hanged to death for it on March 23, 1931.

"Lajpat Rai's ability to shift between 'Indian' and 'Hindu' nationalism in the earlier part of his life, and his change to consistently articulating Indian nationalist conceptions later, shows that he was not hemmed in by a single ideology of nationalism. This book takes Rai for what he was: a source of multiple ideas of nationhood," writes the author in the book.

To buttress her point, Bhargav explains in detail how Rai's Hindu nationalism, unlike Hindutva, ultimately "envisioned the eventual unification of Hindu and Muslim 'nationalities' into a broader 'Indian' nation".

For instance, she explores Rai's wholehearted approval of the Congress–Muslim League cooperation, his efforts to foster Hindu-Muslim unity, and the reinterpretation of India's mediaeval history to highlight peaceful coexistence between Hindus and Muslims.

Besides, it also provokes readers to think more deeply about broader questions relevant to present-day politics including 'Are all expressions of 'Hindu nationalism' the same as 'Hindutva'?', 'What are the similarities and differences between 'Hindu' and 'Indian' nationalism?' and 'Can communalism and secularism be expressed together?' The book is endorsed by French political scientist and Indologist Christophe Jaffrelot, who described "Being Hindu, Being Indian" definitive biography of Rai.

"Not only is it very comprehensive, each phase of his life being fully contextualized, but it is also remarkably nuanced, defying simplistic interpretations. Bhargav, indeed, shows that Rai was as complex as his epoch, when various nationalistic forms of identity politics crystallized in India," said the author of "The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India" in his praise for the book.

Born in Dhudike, Punjab in 1865 to a Jain family, Rai's liberal views and Hindu beliefs were shaped by his parents, which he then used to reform Indian policy and religion through politics and journalistic writing.

He was also part of the triumvirate 'Lal Bal Pal', which included Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal.