Far-right Vigilantism and Hindu Supremacy in India

Abstract

What can the work of far-right vigilante groups tell us about the transformation of everyday law on the ground in India? In this talk, I will analyse the relationship with far-right vigilantism and lower-level state actors who enforce the law in India. Building on my decade long fieldwork with far-right Hindu groups in Gujarat, India, I will try to show that we can get a better understanding of Hindu supremacy in India if we understand the ways in which these groups entangle state actors within performances of masculine public Hinduism. I will take a few sites like a) vigilantism around cow slaughter, b) the construction of street temples, c) hate speeches – to study techniques – like mimicry – that allow such far-right vigilantism to become a larger project of majoritarian state formation.