Hindutva Nationalism: A Threat to Indian Democracy
Image Source: © Sajjad Hussain/AFP
The clear distinction between 'us' and 'them'. The blatant discrimination of minorities under the guise of 'national security'. The conflation of hyper nationalism and conservatism with strict religious doctrines. Today, we observe what used to be extreme right-wing politics inching closer and closer to the centre.
While these descriptions may be apt for the current political scene in the UK, it is only part of a broader global trend. Viktor Orban's Hungary and its anti-immigration stance, Bolsonaro's Brazil and its increasingly overt hostility towards the LGBT community, and the personality cult of Donald Trump across the pond all indicate that right-wing fascism (you know, that thing the Allies fought a whole world war against all those years ago) is on the rise.
Perhaps nowhere is it gaining as widespread appeal with as much intensity as it is in today's India. This form of nationalism has its roots in the Hindutva ideology, which predates Indian independence. It refers to ‘the state or quality of being Hindu’, stressing Hindu homogeneity as crucial to the creation of the Indian state. While the independence movement has successfully stabilised politics in the centre through an emphasis of democratic values, this ideology is once again gaining popularity.
The revoking of Article 370 in August 2019, which granted autonomy to Muslim-majority Kashmir, was implicitly supported even by the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra-Jonas, as evidenced by her tweet which stoked nationalist tensions. This suggests that even the Westernised upper-class of Indian society is caught up in the nationalist tide. More recently, the Citizenship Amendment Act in December 2019 codifies Islamophobia into law by creating additional barriers to citizenship for Muslims. Given India and neighbouring Pakistan’s nuclear capacity, these religious-nationalist tensions only serve to increase insecurity in the region.
The political scene in India is becoming increasingly polarised. The current Hindu nationalist marches mirrors greatly the style of the 1930s demonstrations in Germany in its clashes with centre-left wing protestors primarily consisting of university students. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, attempts to invoke continuity between his Islamophobia and the liberal-democratic India that Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had previously fought for. Moreover, in some circles, a cult of personality is forming around Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse, (and it's not because of the former's unnatural sexual exploits).
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