Move to reshape Odisha’s historically secular culture into a divisive Hindutva line

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak 

In the 1959 Hindi movie “Dhool Ka Phool” (Flowers of the Dust), there is a song written by Sahir Ludhianvi and sung by Mohammad Rafi, which can be translated as: “you will neither become a Hindu nor a Muslim; you will become a human being, a child of humanity.” Similarly, in the 1976 Hindi movie “Maha Chor” (The Great Thief), another song conveys a similar sentiment and can be translated as: “I am neither Hindu nor Muslim; I don’t know my religion, but I know that I am a human being.” This song was written by Anand Bakshi, with music composed and directed by R. D. Burman, and was memorably sung by the evergreen singer Kishore Kumar. There are thousands of such examples of songs and movies that not only represented the progressive popular culture of that era but also celebrated the promise of a secular, post-colonial India.

Odisha was no different. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, followers of other religious sects and spiritual cults, as well as atheists, lived together in peace and harmony. Odia people continue to observe their respective religions quietly, without overt public displays of their religious practices. The Car Festival in Puri has long been a mass celebration symbolising the deep-rooted secular values of the state. However, the socio-political landscape is changing with the forward march of Hindutva politics, where even cars are becoming Hindu. Such advertisements and the association of cars with Hindu identity are part of the commodification of culture and materialisation of identity driven by capitalism and accelerated by the influence of Hindutva politics.

On January 2nd, 2025, the logo of a Honda car bearing Hindu identity was prominently displayed on the national highways of Bhubaneswar. Such an unusual sight would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. The slow but steady advance of Hindutva politics in the state has finally seized state power, working relentlessly to reshape Odisha’s historically secular culture into a divisive Hindutva line. This transformation is being facilitated through the commodification of human identity, narrowing it along rigid religious lines.

All forms of human identity emerge from self-reflection, material and non-material conditions, and individual choices. These personal individual identities often evolve into collective or group identities, shaped by individuals' interactions and socialisation within one or multiple value systems, practices, and environments. As a result, both individual and group identities are inherently fluid. These fluidities were transformed into permanent structures in society with the help of religious, political, cultural, economic, and social ideologies. These ideologies are constructed in ways that either promote connection or create exclusionary practices, depending on the mutual convenience of governing elites. Political patronage of identity—whether through access to resources or discrimination in everyday lives—determine whether identity politics becomes progressive or regressive. The dominant identity politics of white supremacists or Hindutva represents a regressive form of dominant identity politics, while identity politics centered on caste, race, gender, and sexual orientation is progressive and emancipatory identity politics.

Emancipatory identity politics, or identity consciousness, poses a challenge to the growth of capitalism and its popular culture. Therefore, it becomes essential to transform and commodify dominant identities in order to undermine the emancipatory politics of marginalised communities. This is achieved by promoting a dominant popular culture centered on the commodification of human identity, where an individual’s worth and identity are determined by possessions such as brand of cars, size of houses, or price of accessories. Hindutva politics across India has accelerated this reactionary political and cultural process. Writing “Hindu” on a car is not merely an advertisement for Hindutva politics; it is part of a broader capitalist strategy aimed at consolidating commodified individual identities through consumer goods.

Labelling cars as Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Chinese, American, German, Indian, or Italian does nothing to improve wages for workers in car factories, garages, or showrooms. The branding of cars with a specific religious or political ideology does not alter the exploitative working conditions faced by these workers. However, the creation of a commodity identity through Hindutva politics has accelerated a culture of commodity fetishism, where objects are imbued with political meanings to shape social and economic relations in line with the needs of capitalism and its mass culture. This process marginalises the working-class culture, which is rooted in both material and non-material realities, by replacing it with a consumer-driven identity politics that serves capitalist interests. It promotes a mass culture where both producers and consumers are marginalised, driven into an environment of perpetual insecurity.

The glorification of one's identity, driven by dominant political narratives, ultimately erodes the collective foundations of identity built on solidarity and its social meanings over time. Therefore, Hindutva politics and its cultural values align with the demands of capitalism and its culture of commodity identity. In contrast, these ideologies are in direct opposition to the core values of our society, which are rooted in human connections and everyday needs that extend beyond objects and commodities in the capitalist market.

This cultural project of Hindutva capitalism is neither accidental nor new. A similar transformation is depicted by Charles Dickens in his novel Great Expectations, published in 1861. Set in 19th-century Victorian England, the novel explores the transformation of life and society in Kent and London. The making of identity into a commodity for all forms of market is a social, cultural, and economic project. Hindutva politics in India follows a similar path, creating a pathologically restless society where insecurity and dominant identity politics breed political dividends for the governing elites who serve capitalism. In this way, Hindutva politics is not an Indian ideology, and it has no place in Odisha. 

The defeat of Hindutva politics depends on the dismantling of its mass culture of commodification, capitalist alienation, and fear mongering. In this context, it is crucial to pursue alternative politics where commodities like cars do not define human identity but instead serve humanity, promoting health and happiness.