The 2010s demonstrated that Hindu nationalism was far more successful in adapting to contemporary challenges than India’s various “secular” political movements, writes Ilya Spektor. In 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a historic victory, became the country’s dominant political force, and retained that position ever since.
Hindu nationalism is a political doctrine holding that Hindu identity coincides with Indian national identity. This is its fundamental distinction from the “geographical” nationalism of the Indian National Congress. The preconditions for the emergence of Hindu nationalism appeared at the turn of the twentieth century, but it took definitive shape in the 1920s and 1930s as a response to the strengthening of the Muslim League.
The principal ideologue of this movement was Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. In his youth, he took part in anti-British terrorist groups, and after his release in 1922, he joined the small party Hindu Mahasabha (“Great Assembly of Hindus”), where he set about developing the ideology of the new movement. Savarkar’s 1923 book Hindutva (“Hinduness”) presented the history of the Hindu nation as an unbroken struggle against a Muslim threat. In Savarkar’s view, this threat was existential in nature. The Congress, and especially its leaders—Gandhi and Nehru—were accused of appeasing Muslims and betraying Hindu interests. In addition, a characteristic feature of the ideology was criticism of the parliamentary system typical of the interwar period.
Under Savarkar’s leadership, the party remained a fairly marginal political force throughout the 1930s and 1940s. At the same time, another organisation operated in parallel—the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, “National Volunteer Corps”), a paramilitary association with a rigid hierarchy. Its role increased sharply in 1947 during the Partition of British India. For Indian society, Partition became the greatest tragedy of the twentieth century; however, in the eyes of the right, the leaders of the Congress were to blame. An important support base for right-wing movements was formed by Hindu refugees from Pakistan, who, for obvious reasons, were deeply hostile towards Jawaharlal Nehru’s government.
The growth of Hindu right-wing influence was seriously undermined by the assassination of Gandhi, carried out by Nathuram Godse on 30 January 1948. Although Godse was not a member of either the RSS or the Hindu Mahasabha at the time of the attack, he belonged to the broader right-wing camp, and his actions placed it under severe pressure. Hindu nationalist organisations were banned, and thousands of activists were imprisoned. Nehru’s government lifted these bans only after right-wing leaders recognised the Constitution adopted in 1950 and accepted the multi-confessional character of the Indian state.
Ahead of the first parliamentary elections, some right-wing politicians decided to reorganise the Hindu Mahasabha. With the support of RSS leader Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, a new party was created—the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS, “Indian People’s Union”). In the first elections, the party received only 3% of the vote, and over the next twenty-five years, its support never exceeded 10%. This was due both to the aftermath of Gandhi’s assassination and to the near-total control exercised by the Congress over the electoral system, as well as its close integration with the local bureaucratic apparatus.
Throughout the 1950s–1970s, the right, like the communists on the opposite flank of the political spectrum, remained an uncompromising opposition with no real chance of coming to power at the national level. External observers during this period did not regard them as a serious force, seeing the main threat to Nehru’s authority either in the left or in intra-party opposition within the Congress itself.
Nevertheless, prolonged time in opposition strengthened the right-wing camp. Its foundation became the long-term alliance between the BJS and the RSS. RSS activists, accustomed to strict discipline and unquestioning obedience to the “Supreme Leader” Golwalkar, formed the backbone of the party apparatus. In addition to parliamentary activity, the right worked across a wide range of spheres: they cooperated with trade unions and student organisations, and in 1964 established the Vishva Hindu Parishad (“World Hindu Council”) to work with Hindu communities both within India and abroad.
In foreign policy, the right adopted sharply anti-Soviet and anti-Chinese positions, supported Tibetan independence, and refused to recognise Pakistan. Domestically, they opposed Nehru’s “socialist” course.
The emergence of Hindu nationalists from political isolation occurred in the mid-1970s, when a broad opposition coalition was formed under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan, uniting the BJS, socialists, and former Congress members. After Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in 1975, the activities of right-wing organisations, like most other opposition forces, were banned. However, despite the arrest of their leaders, right-wing structures continued to operate underground. The period from 1975 to 1977 became an important stage in the formation of the political identity of Narendra Modi’s generation—those born in the 1950s who entered politics in the 1970s.
The Valdai Discussion Club was established in 2004. It is named after Lake Valdai, which is located close to Veliky Novgorod, where the Club’s first meeting took place.
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