Skip to main content

Towards monolithic society, centralized state? ‘Imposing’ Hindi, Hindutva, Hindustan

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* 

The Hindutva euphoria in legitimizing authoritarian state power with the help electoral democracy is another success story in the history of fascism. The liberal, constitutional and secular democracy is falling apart with the ascendancy of authoritarian waves led by Hindutva politics of hate.
The Brahminical social contract based on Hindu caste order, propaganda, populism, relentless indoctrination led religious polarization, and neoliberal capitalism are five pillars of Hindutva fascism. These five pillars are integral to each other in establishing full fledge Hindutva fascism and capitalism in India.
The evolving neoliberal Hindutva has managed to establish a new form of social contract, which has shifted citizenship to a secondary position to normalize systematic exploitation and subjugation of lower caste, working classes, gender and religious minority communities.
The Hindutva populist government led by the BJP is trying to create further centralized and powerful government in Delhi to facilitate crony capitalism. The authoritarian model of Hindutva governance promises good days to Indians but failed to deliver the basic health, education, food security and health to its citizens.
The Hindutva forces are reshaping and institutionalizing a new form of social contract, which is primarily based on caste based Brahminical social order. The Hindutva government is articulating and advancing an ideology of social contract based on othering of religious minorities and marginalized communities in India.
The divisive Hindutva social contract is representing bourgeois social contract that articulates and institutionalizes mediaeval ideas of Brahminical social order based on caste and class apartheid. The ascendancy of Brahminical bourgeoisie, the Hindutva social contract, is evolving by diminishing secular constitutional democracy in India.
The Hindutva social contract is obscuring everyday marginalization and exploitation in the name of nationalism. The political co-optation of nationalism by the Hindutva regime helps to empower capitalists and marginalizes masses. The agenda is clear.
The Hindutva social contract instils fear and perpetuates economic crisis which destroys citizen’s confidence in state and government. Such a process of depoliticization breaks the legal contract between Indian citizens and their state. It weakens all institutions of social welfare and governance.
The Hindutva social contract is naturalizing crisis and imposing its legitimacy to serve the global and national capitalist classes. Such an organised social, political, cultural and economic engineering create a social structure of conformity that is concomitant with the requirements for the expansion of capitalism and its market society.
Modi-led BJP government is creating policies, structures and processes to put the interests of crony capitalists above the interests of Indian masses. The economic policies pursued by the Hindutva forces reflects the nuances of its social contract that accommodates subordinate and superior caste structure on the basis of consumerism as its operational ideology. Under such a structure of Hindutva social contract, the state citizenship relationship is replaced by patron client relationship.
The hegemony of the Hindutva social contract is subservient to the requirements of the global capitalism in India. The agenda is not hidden anymore. It is clear that the Hindutva fascists are restructuring Indian society, culture and politics to harmonise the primacy of corporates in the everyday lives of people.
In pursuit of neoliberal Hindutva social contract, the Modi led BJP government is subordinating India to imperialist economic structures of global capitalism. Hindutva social contract is corporate social contract.
The rise of Adanis and Ambanis is part of the neoliberal project and Hindutva social contract
The Hindutva forces are imposing Hindi, Hindutva and Hindustan to create a monolithic society under a centralized state that empowers caste and class elites at the cost of common Indians. The integration and centralization are twin pillars of neoliberal capitalism. It thrives under fascism. Hindutva provides perfect conditions to accelerate and accomplish such an objective. Hindutva is an ideology free zone where corporate profit determines its political future.
Hindutva nationalism is a myth that determines the national life in India based on the frameworks of corporate social contract. The essence of Hindutva social contract is to destroy Indian diversity and its federal polity. It does not believe in individual liberty and citizenship rights.
The unbridled growth of Hindutva social contract based on integration and centralization runs without any risk because of the caste based Brahminical social order based on hierarchy. It naturalizes exploitation, inequality and repression.
It demolishes any conditions that challenges such an arrangement between Hindutva and neoliberal capitalism in India. The withering away of secular politics, Indian social, cultural and religious diversity and constitutional state helps in the wholesale privatization of state-owned resources, liberalization of economy and laws for the growth of monopoly corporations.
The rise of Adanis and Ambanis is part of this project called Hindutva social contract and its strategies. The systematic dismantling of existing constitutional institutions helps in the growth of illiberal Hindutva social contract and its exclusive dominance led by RSS, BJP and all its affiliates. These forces provide oxygen to a dysfunctional capitalist system.
In this way, Hindutva social contract is taking India and Indians in a ruinous path. The forward march of such an agenda needs to be halted at any cost for the unity and integrity of India and for the present and future survival of Indians.
---
*Glasgow University, UK

Comments

Anonymous said…
You talk of Modi's attempt to turn the society into a Monolithic one... meaning that in which you have only one God and one belief system. The point is isn't that exactly what the Religions are propagating? Where do you draw the line?

TRENDING

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani*  India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas*  November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.  

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Green Revolution’s reliance on chemical fertilizers, pesticides contributing to Punjab's health crisis

By Bharat Dogra, Jagmohan Singh*  Punjab was once synonymous with robust health, particularly in its rural areas, where farmers were known for their strength and vitality. However, in recent years, reports from these villages tell a different story, with rising cases of serious health issues, including cancer. What led to this decline? The answer lies largely in the erosion of good nutrition, once a hallmark of Punjabi village life. The health of a population is closely tied to its nutrition, and Punjab's reputation as a provider of high-quality nutrition has suffered greatly. The loss of biodiversity in agriculture has led to a decrease in the variety and quality of crops, resulting in poorer nutrition. Pulses, a key source of protein, have seen a steep decline in cultivation due to the disruption of traditional farming practices by the Green Revolution. This has had a detrimental effect on both soil and human health. Although pulses are still available in the market, they are exp

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor*  Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.