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Raita (Indian Slang)
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About
Raita is an Indian slang term that is used to refer to a Hindu person that does not subscribe to extreme Hindu nationalist ideologies. "Raita" is an Indian yogurt-based side dish, and is referenced in the Indian idiom "raita phailana" or "raita phail gaya," which means "to make a mess of things." In Indian political slang, "raitas" or secular liberal Hindus are distinguished from "trad" Hindus, the latter of which consider sacred Hindu texts to be at odds with secular liberal and democratic values.
Origin
The term "raita" came under media scrutiny after the year 2016.[1][2] However, the word "raita" was used in relation to Indian politics as far back as 2014. Various internet users used the phrase "raita failana / raita phailana" to describe the politics of the Aam Aadmi Party, a localized Delhi party that ran on an anti-corruption policy. One such tweet was posted by Twitter[3] user @Niteshkhola on October 30th, 2014 (seen below).
The word "raita" or "rayta" also emerged as a phonetic evolution of the phrase "rayta winger," as shown in a July 2019 tweet by Twitter[4] user @kaushkrahul, where they say, "A typical sanghi is anyday better than a Rayta winger who just only rants from his couch." The tweet gathered nearly 100 likes in over three years (seen below).
A typical sanghi is anyday better than a Rayta winger who just only rants from his couch. It was the RSS & it's swayamsevaks who led movement there, resurrected the mandir & united the hindu society while you were tweeting from ur mobile. https://t.co/GWy5GabTTy pic.twitter.com/qyd8KNokAu
— Rahul Kaushik (@kaushkrahul) July 29, 2019
Other early references to "raitas" were made by Twitter[5] user @ShefVaidya on September 10th, 2019 (seen below, left). On September 11th, 2019, Twitter[6] user @v169u posted a tweet claiming any Hindu that isn't "trad" is "not Hindu enough" (seen below, right).
![@v169u. Sep 11, 2019 Let there be no confusion at all. 'RW Trad' means 'Hindu'. Anything else means 'not Hindu enough!. Shefali Vaidya. Replying to @divya_16_ Who is a RW trad and who is a RW rayta? 3 @v169u 17 3 @ShefVaidya. Sep 10, 2019 10 ₁ ←] ... All the rest of it is secondary detail. Despite the best of his claims, the 'trad' is hardly traditional, but in trying to be so, he at least starts to fulfill the basic criterion of Hinduness. In trying to be a lax Hindu, the rayta achieves nothing, loses everything. 12:07 AM - Sep 11, 2019](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/536/958/d97.png "Raita (Indian Slang)")
Spread
On September 29th, 2020, Twitter[7] user @Slytherintraits posted a tweet about trad/raita Hindu infighting, gathering over 400 likes in over a year (seen below, left). On November 14th, 2020, Twitter[8] user @narpungav1 posted a tweet using the word "Raita" and gathered over 400 likes in over a year (seen below, right). These tweets indicate the further popularisation of the term,
Various commentators noted the ideological divides that seem to exist between Hindu "trads" and Hindu "raitas," with Twitter[9] user @rahulroushan posting a tweet on September 2nd, 2021 about Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah being a Muslim "raita," gathering over 2,000 likes in over a year (seen below).
On August 12th, 2022, Twitter[10] user @zoo_bear posted a tweet about Hindu raita/trad infighting as well, gathering over 10,000 likes in over five months (seen below).
Nationalism of 'Raita' vs Nationalism of 'Trad'. pic.twitter.com/epVZwJirEY
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) August 12, 2022
Search Interest
External References
[1] OpIndia – Trad Vs. Raita
[2] The Print – Trad Vs. Raita
[3] Twitter – Niteshkhola
[4] Twitter – kaushkrahul
[5] Twitter – ShefVaidya
[7] Twitter – Slytherintraits
[8] Twitter – narpungav1
[9] Twitter – rahulroushan
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![Shivam Keshavam @ShivamKeshavam Jun 30, 2021 It's a picture of Sthapati Shudra (architect) inspecting his construction model. Do you see his Shikha? But acc to British Propaganda Shudras were oppressed and Raita Wingers agree to this and still live in guilt trip of oppression that never happend O 22 1 304 . 3 580 3 ←]](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/002/536/978/384.png "Raita (Indian Slang)")
![@v169u. Sep 11, 2019 Let there be no confusion at all. 'RW Trad' means 'Hindu'. Anything else means 'not Hindu enough!. Shefali Vaidya. Replying to @divya_16_ Who is a RW trad and who is a RW rayta? 3 @v169u 17 3 @ShefVaidya. Sep 10, 2019 10 ₁ ←] ... All the rest of it is secondary detail. Despite the best of his claims, the 'trad' is hardly traditional, but in trying to be so, he at least starts to fulfill the basic criterion of Hinduness. In trying to be a lax Hindu, the rayta achieves nothing, loses everything. 12:07 AM - Sep 11, 2019](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/002/536/958/d97.png "Raita (Indian Slang)")
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