What does it mean to be a Hindu? One could easily fill a volume—or perhaps multiple volumes—in trying to answer that seemingly innocuous but philosophically pregnant question. One could also offer a pithy but profound observation— akin to the sūtra-s of classical Indian philosophy—capturing the essence of Hinduness in but a few short syllables. In this instance, however, let me adopt the middle path, and offer only three short reflections on what constitutes Hinduness, or Hindutva.

What does it mean to be a Hindu? To begin with, it means to be in an intimate relationship with the geography of the Indian subcontinent, no matter what one’s contingent location may be. One may be a Hindu from India, Russia, or Brazil, but the experience of Hinduness is available only through an immersive involvement of one’s being with the diverse natural entities of the subcontinent: Mother Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Sindhu, Narmada, Kaveri, and the Godavari; the many sacred peaks of the Himalayas; the hallowed forests of Dandaka and Naimisha; and the revered shrines scattered across the land—from Hinglaj to Chandranath, from Kashmir and Kailash to Kanyakumari and (Sri) Lanka.

Moreover, not all these natural entities need to be physically present in one’s time. Some, like the River Saraswati, may have long ceased to exist. Yet, the memory of their existence remains deeply embedded in the collective consciousness of the Hindu nation, as does the reverence for that memory—rooted in culture and extending far and deep through vast cycles of time.

This national-cultural memory is continually revered, refreshed, and reinforced through periodic pilgrimages, as well as through the construction and maintenance of shrines—ensuring that both the memory and the reverence for it remain tangible.

A good Hindu would want to live in the vicinity of a shrine. Out of devotional love for his Deity, he would willingly undertake arduous pilgrimages to far-off shrines—whether in the mountains and along the seashores, on riverbanks and in valleys, or deep within the forests of this subcontinent—thus anchoring his very being to the sacred geography of Hindustan, or Bharatavarsha, i.e., the Indian subcontinent. That is what matters most to the Hindu.

And therefore, it follows that, without a strong connection to this vast and variegated land of Bharatavarsha, consisting of a sacred natural landscape (something we can call a ‘tangible sacredness’), there is no Hinduism, no Hinduness, no Hindutva.

Of course, this geo-naturalisation of the core experience of Hinduism/Hinduness is not unique to India’s Hindus. It holds equally true for Buddhists........

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