BJP’s Binary Lens On Nationalism

⛎On January 12, 2015, civil rights activist Priya Pillai was about to board a flight to London when immigration officers at Delhi airport stopped her. Blacklisted, barred and branded ‘anti-national,’ she was denied overseas travel without charges or explanation. A Greenpeace India campaigner, she was set to brief a British parliamentary panel on a UK firm’s involvement in a coal mine project ravaging central India.

She never made it.

𓆉The heavy-handed travel ban, typically reserved for terrorists or fugitives, against an activist had signalled a troubling new approach to silencing government critics. Pillai was the first of many to be labelled ‘anti-national’ during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s first term in power.

Six months after Modi’s government took office, the term ‘anti-national’ emerged as a popular slur. Often used by BJP 𒀰leaders and supporters, the phrase wields a strong rhetorical power in shaping the ‘nationalist’ public discourse. The binary label has since served as a weapon to silence critics, discredit dissent and marginalise opposition, reinforcing a divisive political narrative.

ꦿIn January, Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale, arrested in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, walked free after six years in prison without trial or charges, paying the price for their civil rights activism. Branded ‘anti-nationals’ under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), they were among 16 public intellectuals accused of plotting to assassinate PM Modi.

🍨Like “anti-national,” the term “urban Naxal” too is wielded against dissenters, targeting those with left-wing ideologies. Over Modi’s decade-long rule, this branding has extended to Bollywood stars, JNU students, RTI activists, minorities, comedians, journalists and opposition leaders who have questioned the government.

The label has real consequences. Journalist Aatish Taseer’s Overseas Citizen of India status was revoked in 2019 for criticising Modi, climate activist Disha Ravi was charged with conspiracy in 2021 for supporting farmer protests and two Muslim boys were booked in Uttar Pradesh in 2022 for listening to a Pakistani song.

ܫBy equating nationalism with loyalty to its ideology, the ruling regime has overseen a deepening of communal divides, fuelling anti-Muslim sentiment. The 2020 “shoot the traitors” slogan during anti-CAA protests was a direct incitement to violence. Hate speech has surged, especially in BJP-ruled states. Washington-based India Hate Lab recorded a 74 per cent rise in 2024 in anti-minority rhetoric across political and cultural events.

🔴Polarisation has fuelled Islamophobia, with Muslims accused of “love jihad,” “vote jihad,” and more, painting them as a threat to Hindu India.

♉Since 2014, BJP has mainstreamed Hindutva, sidelining Nehruvian secularism. Hindu nationalism now appears to steer India’s identity, prioritising Hindu values over the country’s historic pluralism of caste, creed, religion, and class.

🌺The BJP’s hardline nationalism, however, contrasts with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Hindu Mahasabha’s absence from the freedom struggle. The RSS, founded in 1925, avoided anti-British movements, rejected the tricolour, and was banned thrice—after Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, during the Emergency in 1975 and post-Babri demolition in 1992. The British never saw it as an adversary.

Since 2014, the Modi government has launched campaigns like Har Ghar Tiranga൲, which endorsed jingoistic cinema and elevated RSS figures like Vinayak Savarkar, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya as prominent national icons.  

“The BJP has a deep-seated complex about having betrayed the nation by not joining the independence struggle and relies on ultranationalism to compensate for this,” says Jawahar Sircar, ex-bureaucrat and former Rajya Sabha ༺member, accusing the BJP of reshaping history, claiming icons and equating itself with nationalism.

𒅌Academic Zoya Hasan shares a similar view. BJP’s assertion of Hindu nationalism, she says, follows the typical pattern of right-wing ethno-nationalism. Unlike the inclusive nationalism of the colonial era, its focus is not on an external enemy but on targeting the ‘enemy within.’

🥂The RSS has frequently called for action against “anti-national elements” allegedly intent on inciting civil war and destabilising the country. In addition to jihadi terrorists, left-wing extremists and insurgents in the Northeast, it has equated some journalists, lawyers, teachers and professors with “urban Naxals”, another slur coined by those close to power.  

The Oxford Dictionary defines “anti-national” as opposition to nationalism, antagonism toward one’s nation, or a lack of patriotism. However, zealous supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ♑transformed it into a derogatory label for opponents or anyone questioning the government, accusing them of conspiring against national interests.

From 2016 to 2020, ‘anti-national’ was widely used on social media, particularly on X. Research scholars Joyojit Pal and Ankur Sharma found a dramatic surge in its usage starting with the 2016 JNU protests, when student leaders like Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid were falsely charged with sedition for allegedly chanting “Bharat tere tukde honge”♛ (India, you will be split into pieces). The term “anti-national” resurged after the 2016 Uri attack, spiking during events like Pulwama, Article 370’s abrogation, anti-CAA protests, and the Delhi riots. Research shows BJP leaders weaponised it against Muslims, Dalits and opposition parties, while opposition parties largely used it to label the BJP itself.

🀅The frenzied approach to dissent mirrors tactics used by populist authoritarian regimes, which believe their strong leader represents both the nation and its people, says Hasan. “The BJP has weaponised nationalism to neutralise dissent and justify punitive actions by labelling critics as anti-nationals, forcing them to fall in line,” Hasan notes. 

൲Universally, populist leaders equate unwavering admiration from the masses toward themselves and their party with a deep sense of patriotism toward the country. Anyone who challenges this perception is labelled disloyal to national interests.

🐽During World War II, philosopher Kenneth Burke noted that binaries unify groups by framing a common enemy. In nationalism, the good/evil binary is strategic. BJP supporters, mainly Hindus, are cast as proud nationalists, while opponents are labelled anti-national, anti-Hindu, and traitors, reinforcing solidarity through perceived threats.

▨Incidentally, on the other hand, under BJP rule, the term ‘Hindu terrorism’ has faded. The NIA dropped serious charges against key accused like Swami Aseemanand and Sadhvi Pragya, granting bail, while the opposition claims the government is undermining these cases.

🤡BJP-ruled states frequently invoke sedition charges under Section 153 against protesters, opposition figures and even cricket fans. A recent media report shows sedition cases rose 28 per cent from 2014-2020. Like Indira Gandhi’s Emergency, criminalisation of dissent has resulted in over a lakh persons detained without trial for up to 18 months in the name of nationalism.

👍Veteran journalist Kalpana Sharma cautions against equating Modi with Indira Gandhi, noting that the latter’s actions came amid Cold War pressures, threats from China, and the East Pakistan war. The “foreign hand” rhetoric justified crackdowns on opposition. However, Sharma highlights the ethnic dimension of Hindu nationalism, targeting critics and minorities. “Indira was feeling cornered by international developments in India’s backyard and domestically she was challenged by opposition parties. She used constitutional provisions to act against dissenters,” she said, adding that while the Emergency lasted only 21 months, BJP’s crackdown against dissent, critics and opponents have been ongoing since 2014.

Political scientist John Zaller, in his 1994 work on mass opinion, claimed that in times of crisis, national unity makes for good politics. Modi and the BJP, too, have found that relying on Hindu nationalism serves as a powerful unifying force. It has enabled the party to rally the public support to stay in power, cover-up governance debacles and administrative lapses, deflect attention from political fiascos and controversies. By leveraging the binaries of religious nationalism and identity politics, the BJP has unlocked the strategy to keep the majority in abeyance of ‘acche din.’

This article is a part of Outlook's March 1, 2025 issue 'The Grid', which explored the concept of binaries. It appeared in print as 'Binary Bites'.