Hindu nationalism and the Hindu faith are two distinct concepts; the former is a political ideology, while the latter is a religion with around a billion believers that, like most religions, is not inherently political. According to Dr Niranjan Sahoo, Senior Fellow with the Observer Research Foundation’s Governance and Politics Initiative, “Hindu nationalism is a majoritarian project based on Hindu supremacist ideology. It attacks the very idea of a diverse and multicultural India.”

The roots of Hindu nationalism can be traced back to the early 19th century, but it gained prominence in the early 20th century as “Indian Nationalism” during the struggle for independence from the British Raj. This ideology, also known as Hindutva, was coined in 1923 by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in his work *Who is a Hindu?*

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), founded in 1925 by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, presents itself as a cultural, not political, organisation but advocates a Hindu nationalistic agenda under the banner of Hindutva, or “Hindu-ness.” The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely seen as the political wing of the RSS, sharing its exclusionary ideology.

Hindu nationalism has long been a part of Indian politics, but since the BJP came to power in 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it has come to dominate the Indian political landscape entirely.

According to the Indian Constitution of 1950, India is a secular democratic state. However, the BJP has been criticised for passing laws and policies that seek to make India a “Hindu state,” leading to increased intolerance and communal violence, including the targeting of religious minorities, journalists, and civil society.

Hindutva politics has also fostered unfounded narratives that Hinduism in India is constantly under threat from external forces such as Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, and secularism. Violence against these groups is often justified as a form of “self-defence.”

The Hindutva ideology claims that Muslim “invaders” caused tremendous destruction, including the demolition of religious sites and the construction of Islamic monuments in their place. A notable example is the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, which was violently razed by a Hindu mob led by BJP leaders. In 2022, conservative groups attempted to halt Muslim prayers at Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, with Prime Minister Modi justifying it by claiming that Muslim rulers had captured hidden Hindu relics.

In December 2021, Al Jazeera reported 42 incidents of attacks against Christians in the Indian state of Karnataka. In February 2020, brutal Hindu groups rampaged through Muslim neighbourhoods in Delhi after being incited by a BJP activist, resulting in 53 deaths, including 38 Muslims and 15 Hindus.

As a political ideology, Hindutva advocates the supremacy of Hindus and the re-establishment of “Akhand Bharat” in Hindustan. Akhand Bharat (Greater India) is a mythological nation-state exclusively for Hindus, encompassing present-day Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet.

Hindu nationalism poses a threat beyond India’s borders, fostering extremism, radicalisation, and the targeted killing of critics of the Hindutva ideology. Pro-RSS groups are promoting Hindutva within Indian diaspora communities, leading to unrest, conflicts, and civil issues between ethnic and religious groups worldwide.

Dhirendra K. Jha, a renowned Indian author, has noted that “Under Mr Modi, the RSS has become increasingly active overseas in countries with large Indian diasporas.” The President of the Toronto-based Canadian Organisation for Hindu Heritage Education, Ragini Sharma, stated, “There is this bogey of Hindu nationalism that is being applied to innocent people.” Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the leader of the most prominent Sikh temple in British Columbia, criticised Narendra Modi’s hegemonic Hindu policies. In response, India labelled him a terrorist in 2020. After his criticism of the Modi-led Indian government, Nijjar was gunned down outside a gurdwara in British Columbia on 18 June 2023. The U.S. Department of Justice released an indictment detailing how an Indian agent attempted to recruit a hitman in New York to kill another Sikh activist, later named Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

In May 2023, high-profile Sikh leader Paramjit Singh Panjwar was shot dead in Lahore. Pakistan’s foreign secretary, Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi, stated that India is carrying out a “sophisticated and sinister” campaign of “extraterritorial and extrajudicial killings” in Pakistan.

In 2022, Al Jazeera reported that the dream of propagating Hindutva ideology has manifested violently beyond Indian borders. On 17 September 2022, young Hindu men marched through the streets of Leicester, shouting “Jai Sri Ram,” reflecting the aggressive brand of Hindu pride and bias that Hindu nationalists have long aspired to. These tensions have been simmering for some time.

In May 2022, after an unprovoked attack by a Hindu crowd, a Muslim teenager in Leicester had to be hospitalised. Before attacking a Sikh, a Hindu group marched through the streets shouting “Death to Pakistan” after Pakistan’s defeat against India.

Similarly, in August 2022, bulldozers adorned with posters of Modi and Yogi Adityanath, BJP chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, appeared at the Indian Independence Day parade in Edison, New Jersey, seemingly celebrating the disturbing trend of local governments razing the homes of Muslim activists in India.

Hindutva is an extremist ideology, and its suppression of religious minorities is indicative of its extremism. Under Modi, India, once a secular democratic state, has seen its secularism eroded by Hindutva, fuelling the marginalisation of minorities and communal hatred. India must reassert its secular policies for the betterment of the globe. While India may not be at war with the world, Hindutva certainly is.

Maliha Fatima
The writer is a student in international relations.