A Warning to the Hindus

2022-03-07T18:37:04Z

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{{short description|Book by Savitri Devi}}
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'''''A Warning to the Hindus''''' is a 1939 [[book]]let by [[Savitri Devi]]. It was written to enlighten Hindu nationalists upon the horrors future could hold should they choose to ignore the ongoings of desert cults. The author projected Hindu India as the last surviving remnant of ancient [[Aryan]] spirituality, and issued this work as a warning to what she perceived as the threat of submergence through 'alien', meaning non-Aryan, influences, such as [[Islam]].

== Background and summary ==

After working at the Hindu Mission in [[Calcutta]] for eighteen months, and having been influenced by [[V.D. Savarkar]]'s concept of [[Hindutva]], Devi concluded that "...nothing is more necessary, to-day, than to revive, to exalt, to cultivate intelligent Hinduism through the length and breadth of India."<ref>p. 39</ref> ''A Warning to the Hindus'' is Devi's attempt to alert Hindus to the threat of submergence and cultural alienation which she saw as resulting from the disproportional growth of the [[Muslim]] population in India. She thought the hitherto complacent response of upper-[[caste]] Hindus would result in Hinduism suffering the same fate as pagan [[classical Greece]].

The book expresses admiration of Hinduism for its view of visible beauty, its broad artistic outlook on life and the [[universe]], and its conception of [[God]] as both creative ''and'' destructive: living expressions of Aryan [[Paganism]] which Devi saw as being lost in the [[Western world|West]]. She criticizes [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]] as [[creed]]al religions and for being narrowly [[anthropocentric]], in contrast with Hinduism, which is presented as [[biocentrism (ethics)|biocentric]].

Devi proposes that the numerical decline of Hinduism could be successfully remedied by a relaxation of the strict rules implicit in the [[caste system]], which would have the additional benefits of developing Hindu solidarity and nationalist sentiment. Additionally, she argues that women should play a more active role in fostering devotional nationalism in the home with shrines to [[Shivaji]] and other national heroes.

== Publication ==
''A Warning to the Hindus'' was first published by [[Brahmachari Bijoy Krishna]] of the [[Hindu Mission]] in [[Calcutta]] in 1939 with a foreword by [[Ganesh Damodar Savarkar|G.D. Savarkar]] (brother of [[V.D. Savarkar]]). It was translated into six [[Languages of India|Indian languages]], including [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Hindi]], and [[Marathi language|Marathi]]. It was re-published in 1993 by [[Promilla Paperbacks]] ([[New Delhi]], {{ISBN|81-85002-40-1}}).

== Notes ==

{{reflist}}

== References ==
* ''[[Hitler's Priestess]]: Savitri Devi, the Hindu-Aryan Myth, and National-Socialism'' by [[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke]], pp. 52–58 ([[New York University]] Press, 1998, hardcover: {{ISBN|0-8147-3110-4}}, paperback: {{ISBN|978-0-8147-3111-6}}).
* ''[[The Saffron Swastika]]: The Notion of "Hindu Fascism"'' by [[Koenraad Elst]], chapter V. "Savitri Devi and the "Hindu-Aryan Myth"", section vii. "''A Warning to the Hindus''". ([[New Delhi]]: [[Voice of India]], 2001, 2 Vols., {{ISBN|978-81-85990-69-9}}).

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140621002536/http://www.cincinnatitemple.com/articles/HinduIndianNationalism1939.pdf ''A Warning to the Hindus'' (PDF)]

{{Savitri Devi}}
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[[Category:1939 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Books by Savitri Devi]]
[[Category:Hindu nationalism]]
[[Category:Far-right politics in India]]

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A Warning to the Hindus