Swati Dyahadroy
The proliferation of Hindutva since the 1990s, its consolidation over two decades, and the transformation in the Hindu nationalist's politics over the period draw the attention of different social scientists. There has been a definite change in both the form and substance of Hindu nationalists’ politics since 2010. The threat to the secular, democratic ethos of the constitution emphasizes the need to analyse the evolving nature of Hindu politics and the extent and intent of Hindutva forces. While capturing political power through elections was the agenda, culture has long been a site for Hindutva forces to build a hegemonic Hindu community and cultivate majoritarianism. There is a resemblance between the project of Hindutva and the project of Thatcherism (Hall, 1988) as both are aimed at the ideological reversal and profound reshaping of social life (Sreenivas, 2010). This was facilitated by reshaping the idea of the state, every day of the state and its citizens, and radically altering the common sense of people. As argued by Sreenivas (2010), Hall's exploration of Thatcherism and modernism will help us understand Hindu revivalism which is ‘other’ of the modern, thus beyond reason and common sense. However, despite its cultural focus, Hindutva has also made attempts to assert its claim over modernity. Thus, at this juncture, it is important to examine Hindutva not only as a force employing various strategies to acquire political power but also as a force successfully creating a social and cultural world dominated by majoritarian Hindu ideology.