Appropriating Decolonization: A Culture-Centered Critique of Hindutva's Discursive Violence

This article critiques Hindutva's appropriation of decolonial discourse, focusing on J. Sai Deepak's intellectual project, through the culture-centered approach (CCA) framework. It argues that Hindu nationalism inverts genuine decolonization by centering elite upper-caste grievance while erasing structural violence against Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, and other marginalized communities. The analysis reveals how Hindutva deploys liberation rhetoric to reinscribe Brahminical supremacy, appropriates Indigenous struggle while crushing actual Indigenous movements, and aligns with settler colonial structures globally. Authentic decolonization, grounded in subaltern voice and structural transformation, requires dismantling caste hierarchy and building intersectional solidarity—commitments fundamentally opposed to Hindu nationalist politics despite its decolonial claims.