Cultural Hindutva and Islamophobia
by Prof. Mohan J. Dutta, Director CARE, Massey University
Cultural Hindutva is a key resource of the Hindutva ideology, asserting the supremacy of Hindu nationalism through cultural forms, artefacts, and performances(i). Hindu nationalism organizes around the political conceptualization of India as a Hindu nation, working simultaneously through the erasure of Christians and Muslims that are portrayed as invaders. Of particular salience to Hindutva is the portrayal of the Muslim invader(ii), re-structuring India as a nation on the principles of Islamophobia, through the disenfranchisement of the Muslim other(iii).