The Hindu : Literary Review / Interview : Reviving the true Hindu ethos

The Hindu : Literary Review / Interview : Reviving the true Hindu ethos: "I want to redefine the concept of what it is to be Hindu. Earlier the various groups of people were arranged horizontally but after Buddha in the Brahminical period it became a hierarchy, a rigid system. Once, Hindus meant all the people living on this side of the Sindhu/Indus river. But now ‘Hindu' has become a word in the hands of Hindu fundamentalists, it has become a matter of shame to call yourself a Hindu, this is something quite oppressive for me, I should be proud to call myself a Hindu. I know Hinduism has been non exploitative, has absorbed everything and everyone. If you confine the concept of a Hindu to a vegetarian, Brahminical, sacred thread wearing person that is not proper. Hating other communities, especially Muslims, is not a part of Hinduism. Hindus are intimate with Muslims and we have developed a unique culture with that, all over the world. I want to bring the pendulum back to the old non-exclusive and inclusive type of Hinduism" Full Text