Drawing Upon The Writings of Blom Hansen & Jaffrelot; A Brief History of the Rise of Hindutva.
The institutional and ideological structure of the Hindutva project have been described in sufficient detail, by Thomas Blom Hansen in “Recuperating Masculinity: Hindu nationalism, violence, and the exorcism of the Muslim ‘other’,” and Christophe Jaffrelot in “The Sangh Parivar and the Hindu Diaspora in the West: What kind of ‘Long Distance Nationalism?”
Both authors have made use of distinct methodologies in order to put their points across. Where Jaffrelot makes it a point to tackle the limbs and general body of the Hindutva, Blom Hansen applies a more psychoanalytic framework which is charged towards investigating the heart and the mind of the Hindutva phenomenon.
Blom Hansen takes inspiration from the Zizekian theory and merges with the Marxist lens to the help understand the ideology of the Hindutva, keeping in mind the economic and political aspects which aid in the construction of this ideological phenomenon. In order to grasp the economic aspect better, one can relate this to Chitra Joshi’s approach towards emasculation of men. The main idea flirting with the concept of emasculation being snatched from men and its blatant lack being compensated by violent forms of new expression and authority.
Blom Hansen does the elaborate task of putting this into the context of Hindutva, where the lack of formal labor or employment in general leads to an increase in a kind of communalism which becomes attractive to the powerless. These sentiments of powerlessness are then used as tools to mobilize groups of people for larger political purposes. The larger political purpose in this case being, the Hindutva ideology of “othering,” in a psychoanalytical sense.
The initial weapon of the RSS became the link between economic forces and their communal implications. As much as this relationship is far from linear and quite difficult to entangle at the same, it can very well be used to understand hoe economic and political process manifest themselves into emotional registers. The core register in this case being the theme of emasculation, which in this sense propels violence under the concept of “othering.”
The idea of the “other” here is part of by Hanson’s methodology which has taken inspiration for Zizek. Zizek argued that the core reasons behind ethnic strife and violence lies in the communities’ collective lack of self-esteem, due to their “perceived lack of self-discipline”. This lack leads them to construct the image of the other as “strong and lustful” and this is reattributed to his overabundance of pleasure.
The core institutions which supports this ideology of Hindutva is the RSS and the Shiv Sena. Both stand for the concept of “Hindu Nationalism” which is considered to be an exclusive from of ethno-nationalism which rose up in the face of Christian missionaries and the Islamic movement which found its roots in the Middle East during the colonial times. The idea of this wing however was not singular to just propagating Hindu nationalism in fact one of its main aim lay in cultivating physical strength for the community.
The general structure of the RSS was dependent on the existence of particular Shakhas or branches which were all molded into a standardized pattern, as Jaffrelot explains. This is Jaffrelot’s attempt at employing his methodology of explaining the mechanisms that reside behind Hindu nationalism. Young Hindu men were made to gather on grounds for “games with martial connotations” along with ideological training sessions.
The main ideas of the existence of Shakhas was to make sure to penetrate different segments of society. The main included, the students association, the political party (BJP), the one for the Hindu clerics and the Seva Bharati which was supposed to reel in the less fortunate people belonging to the slums. The mother organization which stood at the top of the Hindutva food chain is the RSS, and with the addition of all these branches, the one family which stands united is the “Sangh Parivar.”
The knowledge of the general structure of the Hindutva, makes it easier to understand the ideology that drives them. Within this structure of the Hindutva, the BJP and the VHP appear as the most dominant parties. The BJP, now standing as the second largest party in India propagates the idea of “Akhanda Bharat,” with men in khakhies gathering in training grounds and performing martial physical exercises and undergoing martial training. All the while, directly relating to the ideology of Nazi Germany, with a mirroring of their salute, their uniforms and their gymnasiums.
In addition to the RSS, is the Shiv Sena. Both may be considered as separate brands of Hindu nationalist, however the one commonality remains constant. Both involve the recuperation of masculinity to a certain extent. The RSS is said to nurture more upper caste Hindus, proposing a program that strives towards an Akhanda Bharat. The Shiv Sena however is the more plebian version. This involves the participation of more aggressive, unemployed young men, who are looking towards violent forces to assert themselves in the metropolitan economy of Bombay.
The common thread that weaves these two together, as mentioned earlier is the recuperation of masculinity as a prominent theme in Hindu nationalism discourses, as Hansen states. His idea of emasculation, lies in the search for “national strength” and “national self-confidence.” This need for emasculation or symbol of loss of masculinity is used to mobilize groups and are often driven by the urge to exorcise or “expunge” the other, which in this case are the Muslims. The ideology of the Hindutva once is promising masculinity through the exorcism of the Muslims from society, and this of course has proven to be fatal, as one can prove with the recent state affairs of the Indian Muslims and the atrocities committed in places like Gujrat, Asam and Kashmir.
Unfortunately, the very paradox of the concept of Hindutva lies in this othering with regards to the Muslims. The existence of the Hindu nationalism and its ideologies is dependent on Muslims. If in a utopian fantasy of Hindu nationalists one day all Muslims were banished from the face of this earth, the Hindutva’s very reason for existence would cease to exist. So it is important to acknowledge the irony that the very cause they wish to eliminate is the every reason for their existence too.
The concept of Hindu nationalism, suggests can be understood through cultural nationalism where the advent of one organic community is propagated. Jaffrelot’s article also deals with this concept with reference to the diaspora. The main aim is to reverse the modern de-purification of the community. This brings to light one of the prime arguments of Hindu nationalists when it comes to their need for the erasure of Muslims. They continue to voice their grievances using the concept of “Love Jihad” and the impending fear that their community will be made to disappear or will thin out in the wake of Muslims attempting to increase their population by giving birth to more children. Hence their way of coping with this element is, like the German nationalists, to attempt to overcome and control elements which appear to be fragmenting their concept of people as one.
The concept of People as One isn’t contained to solely India, as we learn through Jaffrelot’s work. We find out that the ideology of Hindu nationalism is so far reaching that it is very much present in Great Britain and the US as well. In fact the first overseas branch of Hindutva was commemorated in Kenya. Just like Shakhas existing in the domestic domain, Shakhas developed in the international arena too.
The Hindu Nationalist ideology prevails in the US, under rallies like Howdy Modi and continues to raise its voice under the banner of multiculturalism. It is however a strange twist on multiculturalism, as it operates under the idea that people of different cultures and religions should be allowed space in the public arena. However the entire aim of the Hindu nationalist ideology is the snatch space from a specific type of community. Here is where the hypocrisy of the International community is also sensed. The diaspora is blatantly Islamophobic, but will openly allow rallies like Howdy Modi to claim space, all in the name of freedom of expression.
To conclude, both Blom Hansen and Jaffrelot, using their own unique methodology provide a window into the ideological and material structures of the Hindutva respectively. The ideological perspective helps understand the logical basis of Hindu Nationalism, whereas the material perspective helps understand the logistical aspect of the Shakhas, and the funding and the different organizations part of the Sangh Parivar, with the RSS as the mother organization and the BJP as the continuing prominent face of Hindu Nationalism. And Modi as the increasingly prominent face of BJP and through that Hindutva.
Where Blom Hansen takes up a psychoanalytic approach which concludes a mix of methodologies and theoretical perspectives, with a lot of borrowing from Slavoj Zizek (in terms of national identification), whose perspective is in turn based on French philosopher Jaques Lacan (one who refers to concept of “lack” as constitutive of identities). The inspired frameworks have then been merged with a Marxist approach.
Christophe Jaffrelot on the other hand, has focused on the material structure of the Hindutva. He means to describe the mechanisms behind the running of Hindu Nationalism, as opposed to just the phenomenon itself. He hence focuses on structures. His approach borrows from psychological discourse in order to grasp the concept of a modern nation, and of course the ideological spread of Hindutva through the meticulously organized structures existing within. The structures which were imported into the diaspora too.
Hence both Thomas Blom Hansen and Christophe Jaffrelot shed light onto Hindu Nationalism from two different, yet equally important methodologies and perspectives.
