Mistranslation of Dharma as “Religion”: A Colonial Legacy with Enduring Consequences

Dharma, a foundational Indic concept meaning “to uphold” or “to sustain,” has been wrongly compressed into the Western category of “religion.”

Dharma is pluralistic, non-founder-centric, action-oriented, and aimed at moksha (liberation) and harmony, whereas Abrahamic “religion” is exclusivist, founder-centric, belief-oriented, and aimed at salvation.

European missionaries, Orientalists, and administrators mapped the Indic civilizational framework onto their own theological template, labeling Dharma as “Hindu religion.”

The misreading shapes India’s legal frameworks, undermines interfaith dialogue, erodes civilizational self-understanding among Hindus, and limits the global recognition of Dharma’s universal ecological and ethical relevance.

Restoring accuracy begins with language, using precise Sanskritic terms like Dharma, Sampradāya, and Paramparā.