Culture & Nationalism
Hockey India (HI)’s procedurally incorrect announcement to replace the traditional blue jersey with saffron, weeks ahead of the FIH Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium, cannot be viewed as a routine administrative or technically-driven decision with the endorsement of unnamed current and former players, and coaches.
Instead, the move should be contextualised within the framework of the broader ‘saffronisation and cultural rebranding agenda’ being pursued by the Union government, state governments run by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the party itself, along with cohorts.
For more than a decade we have been witness to graded ideological alignment of India’s academic, cultural and sports institutions and even constitutional institutions like parliament, with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-BJP (RSS-BJP) ecosystem which reflects a systematic strategy of projecting ‘cultural nationalism’ (Sanskritik Rashtravad), the ideological credo of the Sangh Parivar, as the sole framework to view the Indian nation and our nationhood.
by Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay
04/08/2027
On December 1, a post from the Delhi BJP’s X account shared a graphic portraying opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Banerjee in Muslim attire. The graphic, designed like a movie poster, is titled “Ghuspaithiyon ke Bhaijaan [Brothers of Infiltrators]”. https://thewire.in/communalism/delhi-bjp-creates-awareness-about-sir-with-islamophobic-content
The caption of the post states: “Those most annoyed by the SIR are these sympathisers of infiltrators.”
In this post, the BJP seems to be suggesting that opposition leaders who are against the SIR are purportedly supporters of “infiltrators”. The post employs Muslim identity and symbols to refer to “infiltrators”.
08/12/2025
Since his days as Gujarat’s chief minister, Modi has made a series of controversial statements about Muslims that have drawn widespread criticism for furthering anti-Muslim hatred and deepening communal divides in the country. His most notorious Islamophobic remarks include calling Muslims “infiltrators”, mocking their family size, referring to relief camps as “baby-producing centres” and repeatedly using dog whistles to vilify the community. https://thewire.in/communalism/not-first-time-modi-used-anti-muslim-dog-whistling
Modi often uses coded language, but the intent and target are widely recognised by his supporters, analysts and even victims.
As the New York Times noted in April 2024, “the direct language used against the country’s largest minority was a contrast to the image Prime Minister Narendra Modi presents on the world stage.”
16/04/2025
Yes, it would seem so, if you believe what the Organiser – the official news-magazine of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh wrote in an editorial signed by Prafulla Ketkar, ‘From Somnath to Sambhal: The Quest for Civilisational Justice’ on December 24, 2024.
https://thewire.in/communalism/can-a-civilisation-seek-justice
This is what he wrote:
“The issue that started with a petition to survey the Shri Harihar Mandir, now structured as Jama Masjid in the historic town of (Sambhal), Uttar Pradesh, is now opening up a new debate about various Constitutional rights given to individuals and communities. Instead of limiting the debate to the Hindu-Muslim question from the pseudo-secularist prism, we need a sane and inclusive debate on the quest for ‘civilizational justice’ based on truthful ‘Itihasa’, involving all sections of society”.
This is a new term – ‘Civilisational Justice’.
A grievance masquerading as a Right.
How, whereof and from who does a civilisation seek justice? A civilisation is a common and shared inheritance of a community that imagines itself to be a nation. Can one political party and its cadre arrogate to themselves that they are the sole custodians of the civilisation and decide to set right its perceived or mis-perceived wrongs?
by Ravi Joshi
24/01/2025
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