“Word ‘Hindu’ is not Indian,people of the country are only Indians”,says Kamal Haasan

Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan said on Friday that the word “Hindu” is not native to India, but of foreign origin.

“Neither the Alwars nor the Nayanmars, the famed Vaishnavite and Shaivite saints, had made any note on ‘Hindu’,” Haasan said in a tweet. Haasan said the citizens of the land were only identified as Indians, and calling them Hindus was erroneous.

“There has been no mention of ‘Hindu’ by the 12 Alwars or Nayanmars,” he said. The Makkal Needhi Maiam chief said the people of India were branded Hindus by the Mughals, a term the British endorsed during their colonial rule. The Alwars and Nayanmars were poet-saints in southern India during the first millennium CE.

“While we have so many of our own identities, it is ignorant to have something given to us by non-native as name and faith,” Haasan added. “It is erroneus, in terms of commerce, politics and spirituality, for us to try to confine our vast country into religion.” The politician invoked a Tamil proverb: Living in harmony has a million benefits.

The actor-turned-politician has faced backlash for calling Godse “India’s first extremist” and pointing out that he was a Hindu. He made the comment at a public meeting in the Aravakurichi Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu on Monday.