Debunking Hindutva appropriation of decolonial thought

With the increasing popularity of the terms ‘decolonising’ and ‘decolonial’, some movements across the world have co-opted the terms in a move to appear radical, progressive and/or anti-west. In this paper, I highlight this trend in the Hindutva movement and its recent scholarship which presents the far-Right Hindu nationalist movement as decolonial, with a particular focus on J. Sai Deepak’s recent work (2021). I draw out key themes found within this scholarship – invoking an anticolonial sentiment; making the case for a return to Hindu ‘indigeneity’; and invisibilising the exclusion of marginalised groups through othering and sanctioning violence against those perceived as threats. In turn, I provide a critique of this literature by engaging decolonial and postcolonial concepts, emphasising the misappropriation of the concept of ‘indigeneity’, the reinforcement of colonial binaries, the erasure of indigenous feminist literature and ignoring anti-caste scholarship, suggesting that these moves are rooted in a highly selective masculinist reading of decolonial literature. I argue that, because of the above, the Hindutva movement and its literature are not decolonial. Rather, I argue that this reinforcement of colonial binaries and hierarchies supports the coloniality of the Indian nation-state, justifying its violence against minorities. In the final section, I reflect on, and suggest, some decolonial possibilities for the postcolonial nationstate of India.