'World religions' and 'ethnic groups': do these paradigms lend themselves to the cause of Hindu nationalism?

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Abstract
The article explores the assumptions underlying common academic usage of the terms ‘Hindu’ and ‘Hinduism’ in Britain. It argues that this body of discourse is consonant with the radical claims of right-wing Hindu nationalists. This is a consequence of the influence of the phenomenological approach in Religious Studies and of the Durkheimian strand in anthropology. A tendency to focus on the positive and integrative functions of religion, combined with neglect of the larger social and political context, both in Britain and India, may have political consequences for struggles among Indians.