Saffronisation is not a policy of Indianization, but a mere game of power politics played by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political wing of the right-wing extremist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The policy of saffronisation or neologisms like Hindu Rashtriya and Akhand Bharat are a mere tool for legitimizing its violent acts and atrocities and its power in the state as the saviour of Hindus in India. The BJP has gotten into power with this extremist approach and has turned India from the largest secular democracy to a saffronized state dictated by Hindu fundamentalists.
Saffronisation is a policy inspired by the word ‘Saffron’ which is worn by hardcore Hindu extremists. It is a policy of redefining India according to the Hindu culture or specifically the norms followed by the RSS. This policy of saffronizing India has covered almost all aspects of India. The current BJP government under PM Modi is saffronizing the media, education, public spaces, nationalism, and overall the people’s brain with its political rhetoric and media discourse. All these activities are being used to legitimize their rule and to keep their sole identity alive to remain in power.
BJP leaders are of the opinion that modifying India’s schoolbooks and educational system is not an act of saffronization, but instead it is an Indianization of education, liberating it from the colonialist viewpoint of the West. Nevertheless, the change is based on a greater emphasis on the Hindu identity and principles. This point of view can be seen in RSS’s ideology, which is mainly shaped by Dinanath Batra, former secretary of Vidya Bharati (a school supported by RSS). He has proposed to take out from the curriculum Mirza Ghalib’s couplets, an extract from the autobiography of artist Maqbool Fida Husain, to remove the statement about Mughal Emperor Akbar’s “Sulh-i-Kul” policy that speaks of the equality of all religions in the eyes of God, and even a statement of PM Manmohan Singh that condemns acts of violence against Sikhs. These ideas demonstrate how the concept of “western influence” is being used to generate a leading discourse based on the beliefs of the RSS, making schools their recruitment and training centres.
Ever since the BJP took power, there has been an observable saffronisation of the Bollywood industry. A plethora of movies depicting Hindu rulers of the past have been produced, often manipulating history in order to glorify them. This has resulted in the formation of a “Hindu vs Muslim” binary opposition, helping to accomplish the objectives of the RSS. The level of sensitivity of this topic can be seen through the riots caused by the controversy surrounding the movie Padmaavat and Deepika Padukone’s saffron-coloured dress in Pathaan. These controversies are proof of the great impact that Bollywood has on people’s minds. The BJP is taking advantage of this by using Bollywood as a platform to create hardcore Hindu extremists and further fulfill their agenda.
The BJP has also tried to saffronize the public spaces by renaming the existing roads, railway stations and airports named after the Muslim ruler to the Hindu ideologues in order to raise the Hindu identity among Hindu extremists. Examples of this saffronisation can be found in the renaming of ‘Aurangzeb Road’ to ‘A.P.J Abdul Kalam’, a pro-BJP former President of India, in 2015, and the renaming of ‘Mughalsarai Junction Railway Station’ to ‘Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’, a right-wing Hindu ideologue.
The RSS is trying to create a Hindu nation based on Hindu cultural superiority by using political rhetoric and media discourse, and by the ill-treatment of Muslims and other minorities. In deconstructing the fascist ideologies of Mussolini, Hitler, and Modi, one similarity that is eminent is the struggle for power. Indeed, the policy of saffronisation is nothing but power politics. It is a question of survival for them to keep this extremist right-wing approach alive for keeping themselves in power.
India has been the site of numerous violent events, particularly targeting Muslims, and also Dalits, and Sikhs. With 24 out of 29 states banning cow slaughter, the BJP has been implementing Hindu nationalist policies which disregard other religious traditions. This has been seen in the criminalization of interfaith relationships (Love Jihad) and the wearing of hijabs. People have been killed for the possession of beef and there have been reports of caste-based violence against Dalits, such as rapes, and the ritual of ‘Sidi’ where they have to pierce their flesh and tie themselves to a wooden pole. The Gujarat Massacre, where the Modi-led government and the RSS committed an atrocious act of violence against Muslims, has only served to increase Hindu extremism in India.
The fascist regime of the BJP is trying to redefine the nationalism of India based on religion as a Hindu Nation and creating a binary opposition. This fascist agenda has its roots in the fascism practised by Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany, which was based on creating a nation based on their extremist political rhetoric, the superiority of their nation and culture, and the extermination of a large number of Jews. These ideas are also fascinating to the RSS, and the policies of the RSS can be viewed as a reflection of the fascist ideals of Mussolini and Hitler.
The RSS is trying to create a Hindu nation based on Hindu cultural superiority by using political rhetoric and media discourse, and by the ill-treatment of Muslims and other minorities. In deconstructing the fascist ideologies of Mussolini, Hitler, and Modi, one similarity that is eminent is the struggle for power. Indeed, the policy of saffronisation is nothing but power politics. It is a question of survival for them to keep this extremist right-wing approach alive for keeping themselves in power.
