India's identity as a secular republic, a foundational promise enshrined in its constitution, has undergone a profound and systematic hollowing out. What was envisioned as a pluralistic democracy has increasingly been reshaped by the political rise of Hindutva, a majoritarian Hindu nationalist ideology. This transformation represents a fundamental shift from the vision of the nation's founders.
The Constitutional Promise and Its Early Challenges
The article references historian Audrey Truschke, who notes that India's secularism was always a "contested idea." From its inception, the concept faced pressure. The original constitution, adopted in 1950, did not even include the word "secular"; it was added only during the Emergency in 1976 under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. This late addition highlighted the fragile and evolving nature of this principle.
Early governments, while officially secular, often made compromises that set concerning precedents. The article points to the government of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. Despite his staunch secular public stance, his administration allowed the preservation of Muslim personal law and made concessions on cow protection to conservative Hindu elements. These actions, as analyzed, planted early seeds for the privileging of majority sentiments over strict secular equality.
The Political Ascendancy of Hindutva
The turning point in this narrative is the political mobilization and eventual electoral dominance of forces championing Hindutva. The key organization behind this movement is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), founded in 1925. The RSS's ideological offspring, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has become the principal vehicle for this ideology in electoral politics.
The watershed moment was the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992 by Hindu nationalist mobs. This act, based on the claim that the mosque stood on the birthplace of the Hindu deity Ram, was a direct and violent assault on secular symbols and profoundly polarized the nation. It demonstrated the power of majoritarian mobilization to reshape national discourse and history.
The ideological core of this project, as outlined, is the concept of "Hindu Rashtra" (Hindu Nation). This vision redefines Indian citizenship and national identity in primarily Hindu cultural and religious terms, marginalizing religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, as perpetual outsiders or second-class citizens.
Institutional and Legal Erosion Under Modi
The election of Narendra Modi and the BJP with a decisive majority in 2014 marked the beginning of a new, accelerated phase. The government has been accused of implementing policies that institutionalize discrimination. The most prominent example is the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) of 2019.
This law fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from neighboring countries, explicitly linking citizenship to religious identity for the first time. Critics argue it violates the secular principle of equality before the law and is designed to marginalize India's Muslim population, which numbers over 200 million.
Furthermore, the article highlights the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, which revoked the special autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir, India's only Muslim-majority state. This move was celebrated by Hindutva supporters as integrating the region but viewed by many Kashmiris and analysts as a disempowerment executed without the consent of the local population.
At a societal level, vigilantism has surged. Mob lynching of individuals, mostly Muslims, suspected of cow slaughter or beef possession has become a grim recurring phenomenon, often with alleged police complicity or inaction. The use of bulldozers to demolish Muslim-owned properties as a form of extra-judicial collective punishment has also been widely documented and criticized.
The Consequences and a Diminished Future
The cumulative effect of these decades-long shifts is a severe erosion of India's secular fabric. The space for religious minorities, especially Muslims, has dramatically shrunk in public life, politics, and security. The article suggests that the secular promise now exists more as a hollow shell, its substantive protections weakened by majoritarian politics.
This transformation carries significant implications for regional stability. As a large, pluralistic democracy, India's internal shifts impact its neighborhood and its global standing. The deepening communal polarization poses a long-term challenge to social harmony and democratic resilience within the country.
In conclusion, the journey from a contested secular ideal to a state increasingly defined by Hindu majoritarianism is a central story of modern India. The ideological project of Hindutva, methodically pursued through political mobilization, legal changes, and social pressure, has successfully reshaped the nation's core identity, moving it away from the pluralistic vision of its founding fathers.
