In the art of magic, misdirection is a masterful tool. A magician diverts the audience’s attention, creating an illusion that obscures reality. The hand flourishes, the cape swirls, and while the audience is captivated by the spectacle, the real trick unfolds elsewhere. In contemporary India, the ideology of Hindutva employs a similar sleight of hand, using misdirection to mislead the nation’s collective consciousness. By crafting emotionally charged narratives, rewriting history, and exploiting cultural insecurities, Hindutva has woven an illusion of unity and resurgence that masks its divisive and supremacist core.
This intellectual colonization—of minds, histories, and identities—demands urgent rethinking, for as the philosopher Walter Mignolo reminds us, “I am where I think.” Our surrender to Hindutva’s narrative must be reconsidered if we are to reclaim the pluralistic soul of India.
The Magician’s Trick: Hindutva’s Misdirection
Hindutva, distinct from Hinduism, is a political ideology rooted in the vision of a Hindu Rashtra—a nation-state where Hindu identity reigns supreme. Coined by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar ( it is said that the term was first coined in Bengal and Hindu +Tatva = Hindu thought ) in the 1920s, Hindutva equates Indianness with Hindu-ness, casting minorities, particularly Muslims, as outsiders. Like a magician, Hindutva uses misdirection to obscure its exclusionary agenda while presenting itself as a movement of cultural revival and decolonization.
Rewriting History as a Glorious Hindu Past
Hindutva’s first act of misdirection is the rewriting of India’s history to project a monolithic Hindu golden age, disrupted by “foreign invaders”—a narrative that echoes colonial historiography. By emphasizing Muslim rulers as destroyers of Hindu culture, Hindutva taps into emotional grievances, framing itself as the liberator of a “wounded civilization.”
Historians like Audrey Truschke have debunked this as a distortion, noting that medieval India was marked by complex intercultural exchanges, not a simple Hindu-Muslim binary. Yet, the spectacle of a glorious past—replete with claims of ancient Indian airplanes and stem-cell technology—captivates audiences, diverting attention from historical nuance and fostering a sense of victimhood that fuels Hindu supremacy
Cultural Nationalism as a Cloak for Exclusion
Hindutva’s second trick is presenting itself as a cultural nationalist movement, claiming to unify India under a shared Hindu heritage. Symbols like Bharat Mata, sacred rivers, and cows are elevated to evoke pride, while policies like the Citizenship Amendment Act and temple constructions are framed as reclaiming Hindu dignity. This flourish distracts from the ideology’s anti-minority agenda, which manifests in rising violence against Muslims and discriminatory laws. By focusing on cultural purity, Hindutva misdirects the public from its erosion of India’s secular fabric, casting dissenters as anti-Hindu or anti-national.
Co-opting Decolonization Rhetoric
Perhaps the most insidious misdirection is Hindutva’s appropriation of decolonization. By railing against Western intellectual dominance and “Macaulay’s children,” Hindutva positions itself as a champion of Indian authenticity. Yet, as historian Manan Ahmed argues, Hindutva’s idea of decolonization is itself colonial, rooted in British narratives that framed Muslims as foreign oppressors and Hindus as victims liberated by colonial rule. This paradox—using colonial frameworks to claim anti-colonialism—diverts attention from Hindutva’s reliance on divisive, supremacist ideologies borrowed from European fascism.
Intellectual Colonization : The Surrender of the Mind
The success of Hindutva’s misdirection lies in India’s intellectual colonization—a lingering legacy of coloniality that shapes how Indians think about themselves. Coloniality, as described by Sahil Vaidya, is the policy of erasing a people’s connection to their culture and instilling a sense of inferiority. British colonialism, through education and language, branded Indian traditions as superstitious, fostering an elite that internalized Western superiority. This mental colonization persists in India’s education system, media, and public discourse, creating fertile ground for Hindutva’s illusions.Hindutva exploits this colonized psyche by offering a narrative of resurgence. It promises to restore pride by rejecting Western frameworks, yet it paradoxically perpetuates colonial stereotypes—such as the Muslim “other” or the Aryan foundation of Indian civilization.
The Indian liberal elite, often accused of being “Macaulay’s children,” has inadvertently aided this by failing to engage with indigenous intellectual traditions, leaving a vacuum that Hindutva fills with its chauvinistic version of decolonization. As Yogendra Yadav notes, secularism’s disconnect from India’s cultural languages allowed Hindutva to claim the mantle of authenticity.This intellectual surrender is not merely historical. It is perpetuated by a society that undervalues critical thinking and prioritizes spectacle over substance.
Hindutva’s emotionally charged rallies, social media campaigns, and media dominance create a theatrical distraction, discouraging scrutiny of its contradictions. The result is a nation where “I am where I think” becomes “I am what Hindutva tells me to think.”
Rethinking the Surrender: A Path Forward
To counter Hindutva’s misdirection and break free from intellectual colonization, India must rethink its approach to identity, history, and knowledge. This requires a multi-pronged strategy that reclaims agency and fosters a pluralistic imagination.
1. Reclaiming History with Nuance
The first step is to challenge Hindutva’s distorted history with rigorous, inclusive scholarship. Historians must highlight India’s syncretic past, where figures like Akbar and Raja Man Singh bridged communities, and movements like Bhakti and Sufism blended spiritual traditions. Public education and media should amplify these narratives, countering the myth of a monolithic Hindu nation. By teaching critical historical methods, India can empower citizens to question simplistic binaries and embrace complexity.
2. Decolonizing Knowledge Systems
To dismantle intellectual colonization, India must invest in indigenous knowledge systems without falling into Hindutva’s chauvinistic trap. This means promoting education in native languages, as suggested by the Hindustan Times, to foster intellectual leadership rooted in local contexts. Universities should prioritize interdisciplinary studies that integrate Indian philosophy, literature, and science, breaking the dominance of Eurocentric frameworks. Such an approach can cultivate pride in India’s heritage while rejecting supremacist distortions.
3. Strengthening Secular Pluralism
India’s secularism must evolve to engage with cultural traditions, as Yogendra Yadav advocates, without compromising on constitutional values. Political parties should resist “soft Hindutva,” which history shows backfires electorally and socially. Instead, they must champion a pluralism that celebrates India’s diversity—Hindu, Muslim, Dalit, tribal, and more—as a strength. Civil society, artists, and intellectuals can play a crucial role by creating narratives that bridge communities and expose Hindutva’s divisiveness.
4. Cultivating Critical Consciousness
Finally, India must foster a culture of critical thinking to resist misdirection. This involves reforming education to emphasize inquiry over rote learning, encouraging media literacy to counter propaganda, and supporting independent journalism like The Wire, which challenges power. As Pratap Bhanu Mehta argues, engaging with Hinduism’s theological and philosophical depth can counter Hindutva’s homogenization without denying its historical existence. By empowering individuals to think critically, India can reclaim the Mignolian truth: “I am where I think.”
Conclusion
Awakening from the IllusionHindutva’s misdirection, like a magician’s trick, thrives on distraction and illusion. By rewriting history, cloaking exclusion in cultural nationalism, and co-opting decolonization, it has colonized India’s intellectual landscape, exploiting a psyche wounded by centuries of coloniality. Yet, the power to rethink this surrender lies within us. By reclaiming history, decolonizing knowledge, strengthening pluralism, and cultivating critical consciousness, India can awaken from the illusion and rediscover its pluralistic soul.“I am where I think.” Let us think anew, not as captives of Hindutva’s spectacle, but as architects of a diverse, inclusive India. The stage is ours to reclaim.
