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HINDU NATIONALISM IN INDIA
illustrates this well: “No Hindu politics is possible unless there is Hindu-Awakening. And that Hindu-Awakening is not yet in sight (‘Hindus!’ n.d.).” Hindutva is as much about representing the Hindu nation as it is about fabricating one. This has been the case throughout the twentieth century (see Noorani 2002). What is different at the start of the twenty-first century is the respectability and influence gained by exponents of Hindutva through participation in the government at the federal level as well as in various states (such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka) allowing them to gain access to the resources of the state. For instance, leaders who were seen as firebrand ideologues during the 1990s have become members of the government, non-Hindutva politicians competed over who is a more authentic Hindu, school children were taught a history where militant Hinduism is normalized and minority religions such as Islam (and as a corollary, Indian Muslims) are alienated, and government employees joined Hindutva organizations. Thus, there has been a visible shift to the Right in Indian politics and the ascendancy of Hindutva forces is its clearest manifestation. However, it is worth noting that the ascendancy of Hindutva is contested and uneven throughout the country, affected by various local, political, and social factors. Approaching Hindutva Hindu nationalism is a majoritarian nationalism that equates India with Hindu society and claims to be a genuine representative of the Hindu majority population in India. Muslims and Christians, as religious minorities, are cast as “foreign” and those whose loyalty to India is suspect. Couching itself in cultural terms, Hindu nationalism is essentially a political movement seeking to purify culture and transform society in India. The capturing of the state is seen as a means to an end, to create a Hindu nation. The Hindu nationalist movement has been extensively studied in the context of its organization, communalism, and relation with the officially secular Indian state (see Basu et al. 1993; Berglund 2004; Brass 2006, 2003, 1997; Brass and Vanaik 2002; Das 1990; Datta 1993; Hansen 1999; Hansen and
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