India, once the land of diversity and inclusivity, has become increasingly politically polarised, economically unequal, and religiously divided, reverting to the centuries-old equation of Hindu-Muslim rivalry. Since the arrival of PM Modi in New Delhi, the Indian political landscape has revolved around constant hatred, discrimination, and polarising speeches by Modi himself and his counterparts, aimed at the Muslim community of India to galvanise the support of extremist Hindus, especially in Northern India.

Before 2014, the Indian political spectrum was dominated by the Indian National Congress, whose ideology was deeply rooted in a policy of non-violence, diversity, inclusivity, tolerance, secularism, and accommodation of the aspirations of minorities in India. Owing to its geographical and population size, with sizable minorities, including 14 per cent of the population belonging to the Muslim community, India largely functioned peacefully.

However, with the rise of the BJP, a political mouthpiece of the RSS, in the Indian political landscape in the late 1980s, owing to a controversial decision by then-Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to undo the Shah Bano case (1985), and the BJP-led charged procession towards Babri Masjid (1992), which resulted in greater riots across northern India, claiming the lives of 2,000–3,000 Indians, especially Indian Muslims. Analysing the core basis of the mainstream ideology of BJP-RSS, “Hindutva”, reveals that it has nothing to do with Hinduism, as claimed by Savarkar in his book Essentials of Hindutva (1923). Hinduism is an inclusive ideology based on the philosophy of truth, non-violence, and accommodation, whereas........

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