Analytical Study of Rising Hindutva in Indian Politics (2013-2020)

Abstract

In 2014, the parliamentary election of India changed the course of Indian political history after the long sixty-seven years of its independence. India's Gandhi and Nehru left is slowly being transformed from secular to radical Hinduism following great Italy‟s ideology of Fascism. As Narendra Modi seized power the All-Indian nation soon turned to All-Hindu Nation promoting the concept of revivalism of Hindu customs and traditions, Hindu supremacy through the mediums of religious intolerance. Violence and protest across India emerged with the rising Hindutva ideology – that survived under the “Sangh Parivar'' channel and its extremist right-wing socio-political organizations, threatening the world‟s largest democracy. Bharatiya Janta Party has been the front-line political actor of the Sangh clan to inculcate Hindutva ideas such as “Ram Janmabhoomi” and “Hindu Rashtra” bringing back the chants of “Vande Mataram” that strictly carries anti-Muslim sentiments. The primary objective of this report has been to explore why and how Prime Minister Narendra Modi adopted Hindu extremist policies that have had negative implications for religious minorities living in India, despite being the world‟s largest democracy. The study is based on case study design and it is a content analysis of scholarly literature on Hindutva philosophy, its origin, and its implementation under Modi‟s regime from 2013 – 2020. The radical revivalism has led India to implement Hindutva aims by conducting vicious acts and brutal violations of human rights. The foundation has long been built upon the rubbles of Babri Mosque in 1992 and the Gujarat riots in 2002. The work of Hindu nationalists has continued with the annexation of Jammu and Kashmir along with the atrocious attacks on students of Jawaharlal Nehru University.