Hindu nationalism and the ‘saffronisation of the public sphere’: an interview with Christophe Jaffrelot

This in-depth interview with Professor Christophe Jaffrelot – one of the world’s most distinguished, prolific, and versatile scholars of contemporary South Asia – focuses on his first area of expertise: Hindutva and the Hindu nationalist movement. In conversation with Dr Edward Anderson, Jaffrelot considers the development of Hindutva in India up to the present day, in particular scrutinising ways in which it has evolved over the past three decades. The discussion explores the diversity of Hindu nationalism and how the movement and ideology have spread beyond the purview of the RSS into various new spaces and normalised, vernacular expressions of ‘neo-Hindutva’. The interview also reflects on recent tensions involving vigilantism and the banalisation of Islamophobia and anti-Dalit violence, and considers what Hindutva’s current proliferation will mean for the future of Indian democracy.