Hegemonic capture of the aspirational religious demos: Role of Akhada and Sadhu politics in bottom up Hindu Right autocratisation

Abstract

The Spring of Hindu Right has been largely studied as an abrupt phenomenon and a product of Modi’s charisma, but this paper intends to trace that neither this saffron spring was abrupt nor top-down alone. Hinduism, differentiated from hindutva on various grounds by liberals and the hindutvavadis both, associates with spiritual-theological aspects of the religion whereas hindutva is a political ideology. Hinduism claimed to be Sanatana, a liberal philosophical system which accepted several interpretations of the Hindu way of life. Though, the Shankaracharya tradition of 16^th century started providing strict definitions under the guard of the monastic traditions of Akhadas and their affiliates, which were created to “fight to protect” Hinduism. Akhadas were now the parliamentary gatekeepers of the “legitimate” Hindu interpretations. Akhadas contributed majorly to changing the narratives of Hinduism from a philosophical tradition to an aggressive other of the minorities. Proclaiming to be “liberal and peace loving” they vowed not tolerate “attack on their culture” on several occasions. Not only are they helping blur the line between Hindutva and Hinduism, but they are also bringing Dalit politics within the Hindu fold giving way to unchecked Hindu majoritarianism. This paper assesses the increasing threat to democracy in India by shifting away from the overwhelming focus on top-down processes of autocratization which have dominated academic study thus far. Instead, we contend that understanding India’s descent into democratic decline requires us to look beyond the political and institutional hegemony of the Hindu nationalist movement. Instead, it wields a Gramscian lens on the rising ideological hegemony enjoyed by Hindutva in India by exploring the proliferation of Hindu far right groups within the public sphere and pays particular attention to the tactics employed by these groups. In particular, we focus on the role played by Akhadas, monastic Hindu sects with a martial bent, which play a dominant role in shaping the socio-political views of Hindus in several Indian states. Through a detailed study of Akhadas, it is argued that by employing a strategy of hate-spin, far-right Hindutva groups have played an active role in creating vigilante publics that engage in a process that I refer to as participative hegemony. By actively employing hate spin’s dual strategies of offence taking and giving in tandem, these groups strengthen Hindutva’s rising hegemony in wider society through the legitimization of violence and a legitimization through violence. By early 2020s Hindutva hardline leadership has not remained hard enough for the cadre. Name of a “Mathadheesh” has started taking rounds among the right cadres to replace the charismatic leadership of Modi in future elections. The research will be investigative, deriving from the public speeches of the VHP-Akhada leaders, and the new found loyalties of the Akhada gurus to various factions within BJP, and the power struggle between these networks that is concretising the shift towards further right wing Hindutva brigade autocratisation.