State Fragility and Hindu Extremism in India: An Analysis of the Role of the Bharatiya Janata Party

Abstract

Violent extremism against religious minorities has been on the rise in India, particularly since 2014 and the election of a government led by the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). While religious violence in India is not a new phenomenon, targeted violence against religious minorities, particularly the Indian Muslims has grown significantly. Government legislations in favour of cow protection and a Hindu nationalist political agenda have led to the emergence of new extremist organisations as well as the expansion of existing extremist organisations, either directly or indirectly supported by the BJP and its affiliated political and social groups. Particularly targeting Muslim minorities, vigilante groups with the tacit support of the BJP government have found a new voice and have carried out several acts of violence. Further, the political marginalisation of Muslims at the electoral level has also become a contributory factor, visible in both the 2014 and the most recent Indian elections in 2019. In addition to this, several of the BJP’s Hindu nationalist policies including the National Register of Citizens and the reignited debates over Kashmir’s special status in the Indian constitution and the construction of the controversial Ram Mandir in Ayodhya have direct implications for Muslims in India, adding to increasing group grievances. This chapter analyses this growing trend of extremism against Muslim minorities in India, focusing particularly on the events since 2014, through the indicators of state fragility. It argues that the use of nationalistic discourse by the BJP and its contribution to exacerbating fault-lines based on identity, nationality, religion etc. has led to a rise in religious radicalisation. The chapter examines the different actors involved in extremist violence against Muslims and examines their linkages with the ruling government, both at the central and the state level. This chapter also argues that the Indian state under the BJP government is actively supporting extremist groups and have through the state machinery provided tacit as well as often direct validation to violence against minorities. It provides a detailed examination of government programmes and changes in policy, an indicator of state fragility, that have had a direct impact on the rise of violence.