How have Hindu nationalists appropriated Sanskrit texts?
Hindu nationalists have frequently been positioned as privileged heirs of these texts. They are the ones who, at least in the public sphere, seem to be the most interested and the most passionate about Sanskrit texts. This interest stems partly from a desire to present a particular image of India’s past. The Hindu nationalist focus is usually on a very small group of texts – predominantly the two epics – and for the most part their aim in invoking Sanskrit texts is to establish the Hindu community as the prior, the most legitimate, the most natural inhabitant of modern India. It is a push for exclusivity. The Ramayana is perhaps the most obvious example: every attempt to look at it differently provokes a reaction from the Hindu Right. Last year there was a violent reaction to the inclusion of an essay by AK Ramanujan about retellings of the Ramayana on the recommended reading list for BA Hons students at Delhi University. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP – the student wing
