Populist Hindutva politics has successfully diverted mass attention from neoliberal capitalist crisis

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak 

Hindutva politics has consolidated its base and risen to power by co-opting mass movements against neoliberal capitalism, presenting nationalist Gandhian socialism as an alternative. However, after assuming power, Hindutva-led governments under Vajpayee and Modi have relentlessly pursued neoliberal policies, betraying the public mandate against the post-1991 economic framework. Betrayal remains at the core of Hindutva politics—it manipulates the working class, pitting them against each other in the name of religion and nationalism to weaken mass movements against neoliberal capitalism.

The populist politics and propaganda of Hindutva forces have successfully diverted mass attention from the crisis of neoliberal capitalism in India by establishing various mass organizations among the working people. As a result, even certain sections of the most marginalized communities have been drawn into Hindutva politics. However, the deepening economic crisis and the social challenges of everyday life have begun to expose cracks in Hindutva’s dominance. Despite this, it remains a formidable force, largely due to the naïve political support of the working class. This support stems partly from the absence of a strong progressive political alternative and partly from the influence of Hindutva propaganda. If the working class could clearly see the blatantly anti-worker foundations of Hindutva politics, they would never support it.

The continuation of Hindutva's rule under Modi is not merely the persistence of a bourgeois government but also an uninterrupted domination of the upper castes and elite classes over the masses. Hindutva's economic and social contradictions, rooted in its class character, are masked through the mass mobilization of Hindus and other segments of Indian society under the guise of fraudulent nationalist rhetoric. State power grants unbridle authority to Hindutva forces, enabling them to pursue jingoistic politics that serve both the international and domestic bourgeoisie. Thus, Hindutva is not just a project of the petty bourgeoisie that has seized the state and government through electoral politics, but it also embodies the power of capital in both its modern and its feudal, primitive forms.

Hindutva represents the most reactionary form of Eurocentric politics, bringing together the most chauvinistic, Brahminical, bourgeois, and pro-imperialist elements in India. Under the guise of Hindu nationalism, it promotes extreme exclusionary chauvinism as a counter-revolutionary force within Indian society, glorifying mythology as history to obscure the material foundations of historical development and the present marginalisation of the working class. Hindutva opposes any form of progressive or democratic transformation of Indian society and fundamentally resists a working-class revolution aimed at realizing the promises of the Indian Constitution. It fuels fear and prejudice to advance its exclusionary agenda, ultimately undermining the secular values enshrined in Indian society and its Constitution.

The Modi government demonstrates that Hindutva politics serves not only the capitalist class but also imperialist forces that exploit the masses on a daily basis. The troika of fascists, capitalists, and imperialists has consistently used the rhetoric of "nationalism" and "national interest" to undermine democracy, erode citizenship rights, and suppress the working class. National and international bourgeois elites, along with their cronies, have facilitated different phases of Hindutva fascism to safeguard their interests. However, despite efforts to obscure the true nature of Hindutva politics, the rise of crony capitalism and the fascistic regime under Modi have heightened political awareness among the working class. Their lived experiences under his rule are fostering a growing consciousness of the class character of Hindutva politics.

The neoliberal Hindutva government under Modi has led to widespread disillusionment among the masses, marked by a decline in quality of life, livelihoods, and civil liberties. However, it continues to retain state power due to the political opposition's failure to expose the class character of Hindutva politics. The Congress Party, as a bourgeois social democratic force led by the Gandhi family, along with reactionary regional parties, has played a role in obscuring this reality—either by engaging in soft Hindutva politics, forming alliances with Hindutva forces, or failing to challenge them effectively. In this context, political opposition to both Hindutva politics and Modi’s government remains weak.

Hindutva is a slow poison that threatens to eradicate India’s diversity and dismantle its democratic Constitution before ultimately handing over the country and its resources to national and international bourgeois elites. It will continue engaging in parliamentary electoral politics until it systematically weakens, then destroys, all social democratic, progressive, left, and regional parties—paving the way for a full-fledged Hindutva fascist state.

In the future, Hindutva will not create a Hindu state but a Hindutva-capitalist state, where working-class Hindus will be as subservient as Muslims and other religious and linguistic minorities. Dalits, tribals, and women will suffer just as much as other marginalized communities. The history of European fascism teaches us this grim lesson, and under Eurocentric Hindutva fascism, India will be no exception.

Hindutva is a class war against the people—a brutal and ferocious assault by predatory capitalist forces on the working class. It represents the greatest internal threat to India and the enemy of its people. A united struggle against Hindutva is the only path to resisting both capitalism and fascism in India. The people's movement against Hindutva fascism is not just necessary—it is the only alternative.