From opposition to oversight: the Vishva Hindu Parishad and religious nationalism in post-2014 India
This paper examines the role of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its offshoot, the Bajrang Dal, as ostensible margdarshaks (moral guides) or gurus (teachers or counsels) attempting to guide the Indian government on political matters. The Hindu-nationalist VHP, founded in 1964, evolved as an activ...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Politics, religion & ideology
Year: 2025, Volume: 26, Issue: 4, Pages: 479-499 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This paper examines the role of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its offshoot, the Bajrang Dal, as ostensible margdarshaks (moral guides) or gurus (teachers or counsels) attempting to guide the Indian government on political matters. The Hindu-nationalist VHP, founded in 1964, evolved as an activist anti-governmental entity and morphed itself in altered political contexts to apparently move to an advisory space, especially since the 2014 parliamentary victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The paper argues that this victory created a wide platform for organizations like the VHP to feel vindicated and act as moral guardians to the government and polity. The VHP displayed a sense of political clout and moral authority to ensure the government’s commitment to Hindutva or Hindu nationhood in India. The paper primarily draws upon published reports and opinion pieces between 2014 and 2017 in Hindu Chetna and Hindu Vishva, the Hindi language newsmagazines of the VHP, to highlight the strengthening bond between religion and politics in the early years (2014–2017) of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government and the growing sense of political heft among the Sangh Parivar organizations. |
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| ISSN: | 2156-7697 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Politics, religion & ideology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/21567689.2025.2586664 |
