Constructing a Vishwaguru (world teacher): Hindu nationalism, populism and the domestic consumption of Narendra Modi’s global image

Abstract

Narendra Modi is a prime example of a right-wing nationalist populist, in his case, trying to create a new India that rejects India’s traditional secular liberalism in favour of a Hindu state. Modi has gained a reputation amongst his supporters as a visionary who is improving India’s standing on the world stage as a great power and making a revolutionary change in India. But Modi has come under increasing international concern and condemnation for his majoritarian nationalist authoritarianism, which has seen India slide on many democracy indicators, a reality which his supporters reject. We argue, thus, that there is a fundamental discrepancy between the image of the Modi regime abroad and at home, that has gone unexplored in scholarship. We also contend that this discrepancy is implicated in post-truth politics. Modi’s populist project is one of asserting a true Hindu Indian identity, the global criticisms of which, under conditions of post-truth, are either irrelevant or, ironically, contribute to its strength.

Keywords:

• Populism
• post-truth
• nationalism
• Modi’s global image

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Post-colonial India has seen a litany of violent communal incidents perpetrated by Hindu nationalist leaders, including the destruction of the medieval Muslim Mosque, the Babri Masjid, sparking riots and communal violence that resulted in around 2000 deaths (Nielsen and Nilsen 2022, 93) and the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 when Modi was the chief minister of the state.

2 The latest report also notes India climbing one spot in the component of diplomatic influence, but its position in that category remains unchanged since 2018.

3 Love Jihad is a Hindutva conspiracy that Muslim boys/men are deliberately and falsely seducing Hindu girls/women to force them to convert to Islam.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [Grant No. 430-2020-0609].

Notes on contributors

Nissim Mannathukkaren

Nissim Mannathukkaren is Professor, Department of International Development Studies, Dalhousie University, Canada. His most recent book is Communism, Subaltern Studies, and Postcolonial Theory: The Left in South India (Routledge, 2021).

Drew MacEachern

Drew MacEachern is a master’s candidate at the Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University, Canada.