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The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India

Article  in  The Journal of Asian Studies · May 1999

DOI: 10.2307/2659469

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 CHRISTOPHE JAFFRELOT

The
Hindu Nationalist
Movement
and
Indian Politics
1925 to the 1990s

Strategies of Identity-Building,
Implantation and Mobilisation
(with special reference to Central India)

HURST & COMPANY, LONDON

 CONTENTS

Acknowledgements page vii

Abbreviations xviii
Glossary xx

INTRODUCTION 1

Parti. THREE HINDU NATIONALIST STRATEGIES

1. STIGMATISING AND EMULATING THREATENING

OTHERS' - THE FORMATION OF HINDU NATIONALISM 11
The genesis of Hindu nationalism 12
The Arya Samaj and 'Arya nationalism' 13
The Hindu Sangathan movement: stereotypes of the Muslim
and the Hindu inferiority complex 19
Savarkar and Hindutva ethnic nationalism 25
The RSS: a Hindu nationalist sect 33
The sectarian crucible ofthe Hindu nation 35
- An ideological akhara 35
- The world-renouncer as an activist 40
RSS Brahminism and its social contradictions 45
An ideology of the ethnic nation rather than of the race
or the state 50
German sources of Golwalkar's ideology 53
A special kind of racism 55
The primacy of social organism 58
The organisation above men 62
Priority given to the expansion ofthe shakha network 64
The northward expansion and the pracharaks' modus
operandi 66
ix
χ Contents

Explaining the RSS's relative attractiveness in the 1940s 68

The RSS and the Hindu Mahasabha 72
A North India movement 75

2. THE STRATEGY OF ETHNO-RELIGIOUS

MOBILISATION AND THE POLITICS OF SECULARISM 80
The political context after 1947 81
Nehru's secularist struggle 83
The first attempt to exploit the issue of Ayodhya 91
Hindu traditionalists and Hindu nationalists join together in
defence of the Hindus of East Pakistan 96
Nehru and the Hindu traditionalists 98
Secularism as a legitimate norm of the Indian political system 102
The further marginalisation of the Hindu Mahasabha 107
An extremist party 107
The Hindu Mahasabha in Madhya Bharat 109

3. A SPECIFIC PARTY-BUILDING STRATEGY: THE JANA

SANGH AND THE RSS NETWORK 114
The RSS and politics 115
The birth of the Jana Sangh 116
First the part, then the whole 119
The RSS and its affiliates 123
The Jana Sangh, replica and auxiliary ofthe RSS 123
The complementarity ofthe RSS and its affiliates 125
Minimal public involvement: the party's organisational
priority 129
The Jana Sangh's Sanghathanist party-building pattern 131
The case of Madhya Pradesh 132
-Mandsaur 138
-Ujjain ' 141
-West Nimar 144
A counter-model of party-building 149

Partii. OSCILLATION AND HYBRIDISATION

IN THE 1960s

4. TOWARDS STRATEGIES OF MODERATION? 158

Adjusting to the political context 159
 Contents xi

The dual constraints ofthe 'Congress system ' 159

- The Hindu traditionalists and state politics 160
- Nehru and the politics of secularism 165
The Jana Sangh's opposition to public ownership of
the economy 169
- The desire for decentralisation 169
- The Jana Sangh as spokesman for 'the middle world' 172
From dogmatism to pragmatism? 178
The origins of integration with the legitimate opposition 180
The 'cluster technique', a party-building pattern
borrowing from both Sangathanism and the
aggregative method 183

5. THE MIXED STRATEGY: HINDU MOBILISATION AND

ELECTORAL ALLIANCES 193
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad: the strategy of stigmatisation/
emulation and the religious network 194
Pracharaks and 'modern gurus ' 194
The VHP, a consistory for Hinduism ? 196
The strategy of ethno-religious mobilisation under a double
constraint 202
The cow protection movement 204
The firm secularism ofthe Centre 208
The cow protection movement in Madhya Pradesh 209
The unreliability of religious leaders 210
Electoral progress and increased reliance on notables
and princes 213
Electoral alliances and coalition governments 221

Part III. THE CONTRADICTIONS O F T H E 1970s

6. LOCAL CADRES AND POPULISM 230

The main division within the Jana Sangh is not vertical but
horizontal 231
The influence ofthe Sangathanist network in shaping
party strategy 231
The choice between traditionalist integration and
Sangathanist populism 233
The primacy ofthe organisation over individuals 236
The central government's fight against communalism 238
xii Contents

The patriotic and populist roles ofthe Jana Sangh: the problem
of outdoing the Congress 240
The sociological limits of populism: the Jana Sangh's inability
to widen its base 244
The appeal to the masses and the decline of 'vote banks' 245
The cost of relying on princes 246

7. THE HINDU NATIONALISTS IN THE 'J.P. MOVEMENT' 255

The activist turn: the Jana Sangh leadership, its local cadres
and the RSS back in step 255
The political convergence of social reformers 258
A windfall and a dilemma: associating without losing
one's identity 266
The Emergency: crucible of integration 272
Unity 'from above' 277
8. THE IMPOSSIBLE ASSIMILATION 282
Towards a political culture of synthesis? 283
The ex-Jana Sanghis and the question of unity 291
'Shakha culture' or 'Janata culture'? The Janata Party in the
Hindi belt 292
Return to 'political untouchability' 301

Part IV. THE CONVERGENCE OF HINDU NATIONALIST

STRATEGIES IN THE 1980s
9. THE CONTRADICTIONS OF THE BJ.P. AND THE
EROSION OF SECULARISM 314
The BJP: heir to the Janata Party? 315
Risks of divorce from the grassroots and the RSS 319
Notabilised swayamsevaks and ideological notables
and princes 320
The RSS's reservations regarding the BJP 326
The erosion of secularism as a political norm 330

10. THE HINDU SENSE OF VULNERABILITY AND

THE R.S.S.'s POLITICAL OFFENSIVE 338
The inferiority complex ofthe majority revisited 338
 Contents xi jj

The VHP and building the Hindu nation against the Other 345
The VHP as the spearhead of the RSS's new political
strategy 346
- The laborious relaunching ofthe VHP (1979-81) 347
-Activists, sadhus and patrons 350
- The emergence of a Hindu ecclesiastical structure
(1982-4)? 351
The development ofthe VHP network at the local level 353
The increasing involvement of a particular religious
network 355
The attempt at Hindu mobilisation 358
Reconversions, the welfarist tactic and temple-building 35g
The Ekatmata Yatra - or the shaping of an ideological
devotionalism 360
The revival ofthe Ayodhya issue 363
The contribution of ex-Congressmen 364

l l . THE MAKING OF A HINDU VOTE? 369

The communalisation of politics 369
Avoiding the dangers of 1967: the strength of the religious
network 371
The BJP between integration and mobilisation: the success of
a mixed strategy 374
The reinstatement ofthe Sangathanists 375
An accommodating 'legitimate opposition ' 378
The BJP is won over to the strategy of ethno-religious
mobilisation 381
The 1989 election campaign: populism, 'political b h a k t i
and riots ^83
A superimposition of strategies: the case of Madhya
38
Pradesh J
Ram as a national hero for the 'angry Hindu ' 388
Processions, communitas and riots as an all-lndia
phenomenon ·*
398
The shilanyas
The BJP's victory in Madhya Pradesh: the activists in
404
the forefront
xi ν Contents

Part V. THE EARLY 1990S: HOW TO CONQUER

AND RETAIN POWER

12. MAKING A BID FOR POWER: THE SCOPE AND

LIMITATIONS OF THE HINDU MOBILISATION 411
Mandir versus Mandai: Hindu mobilisation and caste conflict 412
From the mixed strategy to ethno-religious mobilisation
pure and simp1e 412
- The BJP, the VHP and V.P. Singh 412
- Hindu nationalist reactions to the Mandai report 414
- The Rath Yatra: a national procession and demonstration
of strength 416
- Another wave of communal riots 419
- The Kar Seva and the creation of a cult of martyrdom 420
An expanding base, but why? 424
The affinities between the new élite and the BJP: the impact
of social and economic change 432
The 1991 elections 436
An aggressive electoral campaign 436
The BJP as a national party? 438
The cost of being in power 446

13. THE PARADOX OF THE RAMJANMABHOOMI

MOVEMENT 449
Problems of division of labour 449
The BJP *s difficulties as a nationalist and a government 450
6 December 1992 party 455
The unleashing of communal violence 458
The reaction of the central government: an ambivalent tactic 464
A limited crackdown 464
In quest of a compromise at Ayodhya 468
The strategy of ethno-religious mobilisation in question 473
The resilience of BJP unity AlA
The risks in relying on sadhus and Bajrang Dalis 478

14. THE BJ.P. HELD IN CHECK IN THE HINDI BELT 482

A gradual shift in emphasis in the ethno-nationalist repertoire 482
The 1993 campaign for the Assembly elections: the strategy of
ethno-religious mobilisation ebbs away 485
The BJP in search of an ethno-nationalist image 485
 Contents xv

The difficulty of exploiting the Ayodhya issue 487

- The weakening ofthe VHP 487
- Ayodhya: an issue on the wane? 489
The Congress (I) 's electoral strategy and the difficulty of
the BJP in evolving an economic programme 491
The test of power: Madhya Pradesh 494
The decline of the sangathanist pattern 494
- Patwa, Sakhlecha and Joshi as faction leaders? 494
- The development of groupism 497
- Indiscipline among party workers 500
- Dissensions and the 1993 elections 502
The poor performance and 'pro-rich' image ofthe Patwa
government 504
- The issue of loan-waiving 504
- The alienation ofthe tribals 505
- The OEC vote and the question of reservations 506
The 1993 elections in Madhya Pradesh: the BJP sustains
damage 510
- The BJP becomes ever more urban 511
- Bhopal: the making of a stronghold 511
The BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and
Delhi 515

CONCLUSION 522
EPILOGUE 533
Can the Hindu nationalists cater for the socio-economic
interests of the OBCs? 534
The BJP emphasises socio-economic rather than
ethno-religious issues 536
Populism and the 1994-5 state elections 539
The state, the judiciary and the Hindu nationalists 544
Will tensions emerge in the 'Sangh parivar' ? 547
55
February 1996 °

APPENDIXES
A. Victims of Hindu-Muslim riots, 1986-90 (map) 551
B. Hindu-Muslim riots in India and resulting victims, 1954-93 552
C. The same information as in B. in graphic form 553
D. Performance of the Jana Sangh and the BJP in Vidhan
Sabha elections, 1952 to 1991 554
 xvi Contents

E. Performance of the Jana Sangh and the BJP in Lok Sabha

elections, 1952 to 1993-5 555
F. Notables and activists among Madhya Pradesh BJS and BJP
MLAs by region, 1957-90 556
G. Occupations of Madhya Pradesh BJS and BJPMLAs, 1957-90 558
H. Caste- and community-based distribution of Jana Sangh
and BJP MLAs in Madhya Pradesh, 1952-93 559
J. Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha election results, 1952-93 560-8
(9 maps)

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 569

index 577

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