The world’s largest democracy, India elected it's next political leaders in the General Elections of May 2024. It was much-anticipated that Narendra Modi, the face of the BJP or the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the current Indian Prime Minister will continue his now third term. It has been speculated that his bilingual communication skills and the promise of securing India’s culture toward prosperity increase his popularity.
The frontrunner of this institutionalization is the BJP, formed in 1980, the largest political party in India and the world. Attaching itself to Hindutva ideology, the BJP has been allegedly polarizing the voter base in India, favoring the majority and instilling a certain kind of pride, unity, and superiority among Indian Hindus. At the same time, the BJP also instills an exclusionary ideology anchoring on an anti-colonial narrative, specifically against Mughal India, sidelining any reparations that should come out of British India. On January 22, 2024, the PM inaugurated the much-disputed Ram Temple in Ayodhya, further antagonizing Hindu mobs across the country into attacking Indian Muslims.
This institutionalization of faith for legitimizing nationalism involves a co-ordination between numerous shakhas or branches, under the umbrella of RSS or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. An organization established in 1925, during the British rule in India, with an objective to establish a Hindu Rashtra or Hindu nation on the subcontinent. RSS is a volunteer-led organization with approximately 5 to 6 million members, and more than 50,000 branches across India. The female counterpart, Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, promotes “universal motherhood,” social activism, and leadership. RSS activities appear as “social service,” but are attached with conditionalities. For instance, the RSS, through Uttar Pradesh’s Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, has been providing access to free education to poor children. While doing so, it has also been indoctrinating Hindu nationalist teachings. This disguise through social work is not limited to RSS.
Other supporting institutions involve several on-ground, often non-profit and volunteer-led organizations. For instance, the ABVP members, or ‘Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’ karyakartas aim to support students towards growth and employment opportunities through various activities. It indoctrinates Indian youth. The problem, however, lies in the normalization of violence, where the lines between its associated students and its para-militant group are blurred. For instance, in 2023, ABVP members attacked Tamil students of the JNU or Jawaharlal National University (in the presence of the Delhi Police) who were gathered in memory of a Dalit IIT Bombay student who had died by suicide. This violence is normalized, as it has occurred several times, and legal action is absent. ABVP also extends to Bajrang Dal or Brigade of Hanuman, the paramilitary branch of RSS, which has been violently forcing Hindutva values on non-Hindu Indians.
Violence associated with Hindu nationalism is witnessed beyond the activities of Bajrang Dal. For instance, the VHP, or the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, proclaims to preserve the Hindu Dharma by promoting activities such as cow protection, Dharma-Prasar or Indian Hinduism, Matru Shakti or Power of Mothers (women inclusion), and the promotion of the Sanskrit language. In 2018, the organization “proudly” proclaimed to have reconverted 25,000 people to Hinduism, calling it Ghar Wapsi or Return to Home. The female counterpart, Durga Vahini, with the motto of “Service, Security, and Sanskars,” among other “empowerment” activities, trains women with combat skills. The activities and objectives of such organizations go against modern-day feminism, rights for minorities, and the right of people to exercise any religion.
It is evident that the Sangh Parivar indoctrinates and equates national security with Hindutva ideology (through social work). For instance, Akhil Bharatiya Sanatan Sanstha, founded in 1999, aims to spread Hindu spiritualism, protect the nation, and protect the Dharma–a promise much similar to that of the BJP, at an unfortunate cost of human security. Members linked to Sanatan Sanstha have been allegedly involved and also convicted of criminal activities such as the 2008 bombings across Mumbai and the 2009 Goa blasts.
The Sangh Parivar, hence, not only institutionalizes but also, through its various political sects, normalizes the rule of God or Hindutva. The mission of HJS, for instance, is “Towards the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra,” which blatantly defies the secular principles embedded in the Constitution of India. Moreover, members linked with branch organizations of Sanathan Sanstha, such as Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), have been accused of being linked to the murders of activists Govind Pansare, Gauri Lankesh, and Narendra Dabholkar, who have actively spoken against RSS’s ideology and the Central Government. The institutionalization of a Saffron India hence is a concoction reflecting the dark side of civil society organizations based in India led by RSS.
The hierarchical relationships between these organizations are not entirely seamless and clear as some instances indicate the extent of their agency. In contrast to BJP's appointing RSS’s trade union arm Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) as L20 chair in Bihar, earlier in 2023, BMS protested against the Centre-led policies towards restoring “old pension schemes” in November 2023.
The source of funds that oil the mechanisms of this institutionalization and its flow among the various political sects is unclear. In FY19-20, the BJP received 76% of the electoral bonds received by political parties. After the introduction of electoral bonds, states did not need to reveal received donations to public knowledge. On February 15, 2023, the Supreme Court of India declared electoral bands unconstitutional, prohibiting the issuance of fresh bonds. It is also speculated that perhaps misguided NRI organizations fund several BJP activities too. Further, the unmissable link between Modi and Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man also suggests hidden financial relationships between Big Private Capital and Modi’s governance, that seem to have benefitted both parties.
Often neglected in this institutionalization, are digital influencers, distinct from the political leaders of the mentioned organizations. The primary influencers are local spiritual leaders or priests and global ones such as Sadhguru (translating to true leader) who subtly support the Hindutva ideology through his spiritual teachings to modern India. Another such spiritual leader is Baba Ramdev, the yoga teacher-businessman, and brand ambassador of Ayurveda brand Patanjali. Currently scrutinized by the Supreme Court of India for false claims and advertising of his health products, Ramdev is often booked for hate speech against Muslims. The increasing subscriber base for their ideology is a transactional for clout. Other influencers include famous Bollywood stars who subscribe or participate in BJP activities and merely aspire to an increased subscriber base for economic returns on their films, or they might as well have subscribed to RSS’s divisive ideology. Those who have stood their ground have been scrutinized by Indian audiences.
An important piece of this institutionalization is the depreciating state of Indian media houses today. Ravish Kumar, a renowned journalist resigned from NDTV, after Gautam Adani bought it. Kumar in his speeches warns of rising “majoritarian media,” backed by industrialists, who corroborate with BJP politicians, diminishing free press in India. According to journalists who have resisted this infrastructural dismantling of the press in India, the news is directed by government sources, essentially surrendering the narrative to the central government.
This making of a Saffron India, hence, involves a timely distribution of activities by particular organizations and actors, most of whom are linked to the Sangh Parivar. Their on-ground presence is solidified by provisioning services to common people in different strata of Indian society, legitimizing Hindutva ideology. This blind fanaticism is not new, as populist leaders have risen across the world throughout history. The surprising 2024 General Election results reflected that a new form of civil resistance may lead toward a democratic, secular, republic of India.
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