The Rise of Hindutva

Anirban Choudhury

(eternalflamenew@gmail.com)

Two recent developments occurring almost parallelly (although in different contexts) seem to be having an uncanny common bearing on an ideology that’s fast gaining traction not just within the country, but even abroad—Hindutva. While the resounding victory of the BJP-led Maha Yuti in the just-concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections once again reinforced the fact that Hindutva as an ideology is still very much a force to reckon with in the state and across the country, the growing incidents of violence against minorities (especially Hindus) in neighbouring Bangladesh are providing just the right impetus to the ideology’s growth not just in India but across the globe.

The stakes were naturally high for everyone, especially for the ruling alliance, in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, coming as they did after the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, which the BJP-led NDA managed to win by a slender margin, much against their expectations. While the electoral battle witnessed a no-holds-barred campaign, with each camp leaving no stone unturned to win the popular mandate, the outcome finally proved one thing: that Hindutva is still very much relevant and is here to stay, well, at least till the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Having performed much below par despite the much-hyped “Abki baar 400 paar” campaign in the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP’s focus on Hindutva politics over-arching caste divides seems to have once again paid electoral dividends. Popular slogans like “Ek rahenge to safe rahenge” (coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself), “Batenge to katenge,” “Ek rahenge to nek rahenge,” etc., while working diligently on caste equations, apparently seemed to have delivered the desired results for the BJP.

Actually, the consolidation of Hindu votes can also be attributed to the appeasement politics pursued by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in order to secure Muslim votes. As the MVA partners openly courted controversial Muslim leaders to solicit Muslim votes and unveiled a series of initiatives aimed at addressing their concerns, the BJP and its allies managed to use this to create counter-narratives and convince the Hindu voters of the danger the opposition coalition posed. Perhaps this was the first time in the history of Maharashtra that an entire electoral process was polarized. And ultimately, as in the game of numbers, it’s always the Hindu votes that get consolidated wherever an election gets polarised; Maharashtra proved no different to the rule.

Also, unlike in the Lok Sabha polls, the saffron party seems to have realised the folly of ruffling the feathers of its ideological parent organisation, RSS, the wrong way. While it had been widely reported that the RSS largely kept itself aloof from campaigning for the BJP during the parliamentary elections following differences with the party’s leadership, the Nagpur-headquartered organisation reportedly this time in Maharashtra quietly mobilised its vast network of cadres and organised over 60,000 meetings with people at the grassroots to consolidate Hindu votes as part of the “Sajagraho” campaign. Sans hype, buzz, or high-decibel campaigns, the RSS quietly reached out to voters’ doors to door months ahead of the November 20 Assembly polls, focusing on Hindutva and national unity. Further, the coordination between both the BJP and RSS seems to have paid off. Now, it remains to be seen how this winning formula is taken forward to other states by the saffron party in the coming days.

First propounded by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1922 in the face of proselytisation of Hindus under the patronage of the British, preceded by centuries of forceful conversion by Islamic invaders, the ideology sought to unite the Hindus politically for the first time in the subcontinent, overriding caste divisions. However, it remained largely confined to the fringes before the Ram Janmabhoomi movement mainstreamed it in the 1990s. And the rest, as they say, is history. The subsequent government formation by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi’s three consecutive terms as prime minister only reflected the popular acceptance of Hindutva.

Meanwhile, while the internal socio-political dynamics metamorphose and transform, external factors too are aiding and influencing Hindutva’s growth trajectory in the country and abroad. Reports of growing atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh post Sheikh Hasina’s ouster have naturally irked the Hindus on this side of the border, thereby helping in the cause of the Hindutva. Incidentally, the incidents of vandalism and looting of Hindu property, desecration of Hindu mandirs, attacks on Hindu women, etc., in Bangladesh have also helped bring focus on the plight of persecuted Hindus in the subcontinent for the first time on the international stage, even inviting censure for the South Asian country. So, while Hindus worldwide have become vocal against the attacks on their brethren in Bangladesh, the matter has also snowballed into a major crisis management issue for the beleaguered Mohammad Yunus-led caretaker government, forcing it to issue assurances and clarifications in international fora.

And, in an unprecedented development, even as the Yunus-led caretaker government is cosying up to the Islamists, the issue of persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh has reached the UK Parliament, which expressed concern over the matter. Similarly, US President-elect Donald Trump has made no bones about his displeasure, while UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned the violence against the minorities, including Hindus. In fact, Johnnie Moore, a former commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (notorious for anti-Hindu bias), has also spoken out against the ongoing violence.

Thus, after failing to acknowledge for decades, the international community is finally taking note of the plight of the Hindus facing persecution in India’s neighbourhood. Besides New Delhi’s growing economic and political heft on the world stage being partly responsible for this, the Indian diaspora’s growing socio-economic and political influence, leading to the spread of Hindu philosophy and ideals worldwide, over the past few decades too can be attributed to the changing dynamics. While this augurs well for the community, it remains to be seen how this pans out in the days to come. Finally, the Hindus would do well to bear in mind that their cause would ultimately have to be upheld by them only, united, without being coy on the issues that threaten their very existence, as seen in Jammu & Kashmir, Bangladesh, Pakistan, etc., in the face of radical elements.