The open call for genocide at the Haridwar dharma sansad recently, where Hindutva leaders stoked the fires of communalism by inciting violence against Muslims, presents to us not just a picture of a polarised, fragmented, communalised and violence-ridden society where such a blatant display of hatred and incitement of violence has become the new normal but is also a manifestation of the ethnic nationalism that the Modi government espouses and upholds. The fact that today, a so-called secular and democratic country has been hijacked by communal forces needs to be understood both historically and politically and not oversimplified as merely a case of intolerance.Christophe Jaffrelot, a leading political scientist, in his book Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy, becomes important in this regard. The book provides critical insights into how the decline of democracy in India is linked to Modi’s rise, backed by the Hindutva ideologue RSS and its various branches. As Jaffrelot quite aptly points out in his account of India under Modi, not only has Modi, through personalisation of power, projected himself as a people’s leader with great oratory skills and as a sacrificing saint-figure, but he has also misled the populace by presenting himself as the Hindu hriday samrat (the emperor of Hindu hearts) and vikas purush (development man). By manipulating the prejudices of the majority and presenting the minorities as ‘the other’ against which the former not only has to defend itself but also seek revenge, Modi has ensured that the Hindutva aspiration for a Hindu Rashtra is realised through the creation of deliberate fissures in the society and the legitimisation of this hate and anger against minority communities through instruments of state power. At the same time, Modi has actively presented himself as pro-poor and, through empty rhetoric and the façade of pro-poor policies, sought to win them over while doing practically nothing to substantially empower the economically disadvantaged.
To quote from Christophe Jaffrelot in this context, “These features of Modi’s politics conform to the canons of populism: Modi has delivered pro-poor rhetoric in the full range of tones, without this rhetoric being acted upon. On the contrary, Modi has mobilised the poor against the establishment while, at the same time, some of his policies have made the rich even richer. The two facets of national populism are at work here: on the one hand, elite groups and middle-class elements fearing for their status have used identity and religion to mobilize the plebians against the Other by manipulating emotions; on the other, the only promises in terms of economic development that have been fulfilled are mostly nonfinancial, as inequality has been allowed to increase.” He further adds, “In Modi’s case, while the Muslim scapegoat has been thoroughly exploited, the common masses have hardly seen their lives improve from an economic standpoint, and the rich have benefited immensely from his policies.”
The project of creating a de facto Hindu Rashtra is being realised in Modi’s India through not only the distortion and manipulation of state power but also the posturing of socio-cultural discourse. RSS, Bajrang Dal, and the various other organisational manifestations of the Hindutva ideology enforce their power in the form of moral policing exercised through vigilantism. The public killings in the name of cow protection, the online trolling of journalists, the physical and symbolic violence that is promoted in the name of religion and religious honour, the ghar wapsi campaign, and so on show how the public space has been Hinduised, rigidified and made the secure ground for violence to prevail at the cost of not just rights, law and order but also human dignity and lives. Furthermore, the calculative legislative and extra-legislative measures taken by the Modi government in the name of cow protection, protection against religious conversion, and the changes brought about in the syllabi of schools and colleges, depict how the instruments of state power have been hijacked by the authoritarian Hindutva ideology, which works hand in hand with the machinery of cultural and moral policing embodied by the RSS and its ideologues.
Christophe Jaffrelot’s account of India since Modi’s rise to power is a much-needed critical analysis, historical positioning, and political examination of the processes and strategies through which India is descending into authoritarian vigilantism. Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy is a very urgent, searing critique of not just the ethnic nationalism and the populist rhetoric that Modi, backed by the RSS, has used to take over the democratic state and polarise the society, but also of the very ideology and practice of Hindutva that excludes and targets minorities, othering them through various forms of violence and subjugation. The book traces the history of the political trajectory of not just Hindutva and what Jaffrelot terms ‘Moditva’ but also the rise of Hindu majoritarianism accompanied by the formation of an ethnic democracy. It is a work that forces us to remember, historicize, and understand the current socio-political reality with a critical eye and a perceptive vision, thereby allowing us to look at the horror unfolding beyond the façade of the “charismatic” leader (to use Weber’s term), the vikas purush.
DISCLAIMER: ALL VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT, IN ANY WAY, REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF THE MEMBERS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ORGANISATION. THEY ARE NOT INTENDED TO MALIGN ANY GROUP, ORGANISATION, COMPANY OR RELIGION.
Hunardeep Kaur is a third year student of English Literature at Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi. She is interested in looking at the world through the lens of art, literature and culture. She finds solace in poetry and sunsets.
Hey there! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My web site looks weird when browsing from my iphone 4. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share. Thank you!
Hello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.
You made some respectable factors there. I looked on the internet for the problem and located most people will go along with along with your website.
I reckon something genuinely special in this web site.
I and also my friends happened to be digesting the nice key points from your web site while suddenly developed a terrible suspicion I never expressed respect to the site owner for those strategies. My men had been totally glad to learn them and have now pretty much been having fun with them. Thanks for turning out to be simply thoughtful as well as for deciding on some great subject areas millions of individuals are really wanting to discover. My very own sincere regret for not expressing appreciation to earlier.
I definitely wanted to write down a small comment in order to say thanks to you for those superb recommendations you are giving at this website. My incredibly long internet look up has at the end been honored with reputable information to talk about with my neighbours. I ‘d repeat that most of us readers actually are unquestionably endowed to be in a superb network with so many lovely professionals with insightful tips. I feel really happy to have seen your web site and look forward to plenty of more excellent moments reading here. Thanks once more for all the details.
Hello my family member! I want to say that this post is amazing, great written and include approximately all important infos. I’d like to see extra posts like this.
This blog is definitely rather handy since I’m at the moment creating an internet floral website – although I am only starting out therefore it’s really fairly small, nothing like this site. Can link to a few of the posts here as they are quite. Thanks much. Zoey Olsen
Great goods from you, man. I have consider your stuff prior to and you are simply too wonderful. I really like what you’ve obtained right here, really like what you’re stating and the way in which by which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you continue to take care of to stay it smart. I can not wait to learn far more from you. That is actually a great web site.