Book excerpt: "Hindutva: Who is a Hindu? is an ideological pamphlet by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Originally published under the title Essentials Of Hindutva in 1923, it was retitled Hindutva: Who Is a Hindu? when reprinted in 1928. Savarkar's pamphlet forms part of the canon of works published during British rule that later influenced post-independence contemporary Hindu nationalism. Savarkar used the term "Hindutva" (Sanskrit -tva, neuter abstract suffix) to describe "Hinduness" or the "quality of being a Hindu". Savarkar regarded Hinduism as an ethnic, cultural and political identity. Hindus, according to Savarkar, are those who consider India to be the land in which their ancestors lived, as well as the land in which their religion originated. He advocates the creation of a Hindu state in that sense."--Amazon.com.