Resisting the configurations for a Hindu nation

Abstract

The protests against the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and a nationwide NRC (National Register of Citizens) have emerged as an important challenge against right-wing majoritarianism in India. These protests frame themselves as part of a struggle to save the Indian constitution and its secular character. How can we understand the role of such protests in resisting the right-wing efforts for a Hindu Rashtra, or a Hindu nation where minorities, especially Muslims, will be marked as undesirable Others? The article attempts to answer this question by looking at Hindu Rashtra as a performative project. The manner in which the processes of anti-CAA-NRC protests attempt to challenge the claims of Hindutva narratives are analyzed. The article explores the possibility of undoing the Hindutva ecosystem of hate through cultural and media materials as well as bodies from the sites of protests which assert the constitutionally guaranteed principle of equality